The Latest: Sheriff’s office has ‘special event’ permit to clear sidewalk near courthouse

BALTIMORE – The latest on the trial of a Baltimore police officer who is charged with manslaughter in the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who was injured in the back of a police transport van (all times local).

6:55 p.m.

The Baltimore Sheriff’s Office has obtained a “special event” permit to clear a sidewalk in front of a courthouse where the trial of a city police officer is under way.

William Porter is one of six officers charged in the April arrest and death of Freddie Gray. A jury is deliberating on manslaughter and other charges. They are set to return Wednesday to continue their work.

The Baltimore Sun reports the sheriff’s office obtained the permit from the city transportation department to keep the sidewalk clear. It’s in effect from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and runs through May 1. That would cover the scheduled trials of the officers.

Maj. Sabrina Tapp-Harper told the Sun the permit allows deputies to move protesters if “we deem necessary,” as in the case of a pedestrian traffic or safety issue. However, Tapp-Harper says some protests have still taken place on the sidewalk.

ACLU of Maryland attorney David Rocah calls the permit “ridiculous.” He told the newspaper such permits are “meant to protect demonstrators’ rights, not the rights of the government, which has no First Amendment rights.”

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5:35 p.m.

A Baltimore jury has ended its second day of deliberations without a verdict in the manslaughter trial of a police officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray.

The jurors will resume their work Wednesday. They went home Tuesday after eight hours of discussions that proved so difficult at one point they told Circuit Judge Barry Williams they were deadlocked. He told them to keep deliberating.

It wasn’t clear if jurors were stuck on one or more of the four charges.

Officer William Porter is charged with manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office.

He’s the first of six officers to stand trial on charges stemming from Gray’s arrest and death from a broken neck.

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4:40 p.m.

A Baltimore jury is nearing the end of its second day of deliberations in the manslaughter trial of a police officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray.

Jurors sent a note to Circuit Judge Barry Williams shortly before 4:30 p.m. Tuesday saying they will wrap up for the day at 5:30 p.m.

The note came a little more than an hour after the jury told Williams it was deadlocked. The judge told the panel to keep deliberating. It wasn’t clear if they were stuck on one or more of the four charges.

Officer William Porter is charged with manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office. He’s the first of six Baltimore officers to stand trial on charges stemming from Gray’s arrest and death from a broken neck.

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3:45 p.m.

Jurors in the manslaughter trial of a Baltimore police officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray say they’re deadlocked, but the judge overseeing the case has told them to keep deliberating.

The jury sent a note to Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams on Tuesday afternoon after about nine hours of deliberations over two days in the trial of Officer William Porter.

He is the first of six officers to stand trial on charges stemming from Gray’s death in April.

Porter is charged with manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct. Prosecutors say he should have buckled Gray in and called a medic after the 25-year-old prisoner asked for help.

Porter’s lawyers say he’s not to blame for Gray’s death.

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3:35 p.m.

Armoured vehicles and police are being stationed around the city ahead of any verdict from the jury in the trial of Officer William Porter.

He is the first officer to go on trial in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray.

Maryland State Police had troopers and large vehicles, including a Humvee, in a park Tuesday afternoon near The Maryland Zoo. There were also reports of officers with helmets and shields.

Baltimore Police spokesman T.J. Smith told The Baltimore Sun that the images are “not the visual that we want to portray.” He says there is no reason for officers to don their equipment at this point and police wanted to keep “assisting agencies” out of sight, rather than “raise anxieties.”

He says officers from out of town and tactical equipment will be used only “if absolutely necessary.”

Grey died after he was injured in the back of a police wagon. His death spurred protests and the city endured rioting at one point.

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2:40 p.m.

A Baltimore jury is deep into a second day of deliberations over the first police officer to stand trial in Freddie Gray’s death.

Jurors resumed their work Tuesday afternoon after a lunch break in the manslaughter trial of Officer William Porter. The panel spent three hours deliberating Monday.

Grey died April 19, a week after his neck was broken in the back of a police van with his wrists and ankles shackled. The autopsy concluded the injury probably occurred as Gray was slammed against a wall during cornering or braking.

Porter is charged with manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct. Prosecutors say he should have buckled Gray in and called a medic after the 25-year-old prisoner asked for help.

Porter’s lawyers say he’s not to blame for Gray’s death.

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1:25 p.m.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is questioning why Freddie Gray demonstrators are not protesting the rising murder rate in the city.

Hogan spoke on WBAL’s C4 show on Tuesday as jurors began their second day of deliberations in the trial of Officer William Porter, the first of six officers being tried in connection with Gray’s death.

While Hogan says people have the right to express their frustrations and protest in a peaceful manner, the Republican governor is asking: “Where are the people protesting the 330 people murdered?”

The governor says state and city officials are prepared for protests if there is a verdict in the Gray case. Hogan says he spoke with Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake on Monday night about co-ordinating a response.

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12:05 p.m.

Maryland police from outside of Baltimore are in the city to help local authorities as a precaution during jury deliberations in the trial of an officer charged in the Freddie Gray case.

Baltimore Police spokesman T.J. Smith said Tuesday multiple agencies have confirmed they will help, if necessary.

Lori Boone, a spokeswoman with the Howard County Police Department, says the county has officers prepared to assist. The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office also is prepared to help.

Jury deliberations began Monday afternoon and resumed Tuesday. The trial of Officer William Porter is the first of six for officers charged in the case.

Gray’s arrest and death triggered rioting in April.

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10:55 a.m.

The Baltimore jury in the manslaughter trial of Officer William Porter is hard at work on its second day of deliberations.

So far, the panel has sent the judge four notes Tuesday, requesting items including highlighters, paper, sticky notes, computer speakers and the clerk’s list of exhibits.

The judge has granted most of the requests, but refused to provide the exhibit list because it wasn’t entered into evidence.

On Monday, the jury asked for transcripts of Porter’s interview with internal affairs investigators and recordings of police communications on the day Freddie Gray was arrested. The judge said the transcripts were not in evidence but the panel could listen to the recordings again.

Porter is the first officer to go on trial in the arrest and death of Gray.

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10:20 a.m.

The jury in the trial for William Porter, one of six officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray, has asked the judge for computer speakers.

The note Tuesday was the fourth of the day. Previously, the jury asked for water, Post-it notes and the clerk’s list of exhibits.

The jury began deliberating Monday and asked for a transcript of Porter’s testimony and police tapes. The judge denied their requests for transcripts because they were not in evidence, but will allow jurors to listen to the tapes and view the video interviews.

It wasn’t immediately clear what they wanted the speakers for.

Porter faces manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office charges.

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10 a.m.

As a Baltimore jury deliberates in the manslaughter trial of a city police officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray, a neighbouring school system is avoiding field trips in the city.

Baltimore County Public School spokesman Mychael Dickerson said Tuesday that the school system is postponing, and in some cases cancelling, field trips and events in Baltimore city through Friday. The county surrounds most of the city and extends north to Maryland’s border with Pennsylvania.

Dickerson says the precaution is being taken after officials consulted with law enforcement partners.

Dickerson says the school system took similar steps in the spring, when unrest broke out in the city after Gray’s death.

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9:40 a.m.

A judge has denied defence motions for a mistrial and change of venue as the jury deliberates in the manslaughter trial of a Baltimore police officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray.

Circuit Judge Barry Williams said Tuesday the renewed motions were not appropriate at this stage of Officer William Porter’s trial.

The judge also denied a defence request to ask jurors whether they have seen a letter that the city schools chief sent home with children, warning of consequences for violent responses to the eventual verdict.

The jury sent out notes asking for water, highlighters, sticky notes and paper. They also requested the clerk’s list of exhibits in evidence.

Gray died April 19, a week after his neck was broken in the back of a police van with his wrists and ankles shackled. Porter is charged with manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct.

Tuesday is the second day of deliberations. The panel spent three hours deliberating Monday.

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9:15 a.m.

Jurors have resumed deliberations in the case of the first police offer to be tried in Freddie Gray’s death.

Tuesday is the second day of deliberations in the trial of Officer William Porter. The panel spent three hours deliberating Monday.

Grey died April 19, a week after his neck was broken in the back of a police van with his wrists and ankles shackled. The autopsy concluded that the injury most likely came as Gray was slammed against a wall during cornering or braking.

Porter is charged with manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct. Prosecutors say he should have buckled Gray in and called a medic after the 25-year-old man said he needed help.

Porter’s lawyers say he’s not to blame for Gray’s death.

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9:15 a.m.

The White House is urging that any concern over a verdict in the first police officer’s trial over Freddie Gray’s death be expressed peacefully.

A reporter asked spokesman Josh Earnest at a Monday briefing whether there was a message from the White House to people in Baltimore, saying the jury in officer William Porter’s case may have a decision this week. Porter is charged with manslaughter in Gray’s death.

Earnest says President Barack Obama’s comments after Chicago police recently released video of the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald were relevant. Earnest says the president was proud of how the community responded with a “forceful but peaceful display of concern.”

Earnest says the administration is “hopeful that as activists and individuals in other communities have similar concerns to express, that they do so peacefully.”

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9:15 a.m.

Baltimore’s police commissioner says the department must resist the low expectations that some people have of the force in its upcoming response to a verdict in the first trial over Freddie Gray’s death.

In a letter tweeted by the department on Monday night, Commissioner Kevin Davis says the department members’ commitment to their profession should be without strings.

Davis says department members “will serve as peace keepers for those wishing to exercise their right to protest” and allow “lawful assembly of those gathered to question the government.” He says they will also “protect homes, businesses, residents, and police officers from harm and mayhem.”

Davis says nothing will distract members of the department “from being considered anything but the very best in the important days ahead of us.”

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7:55 a.m.

Advocates are warning of a chilling effect on legitimate protests after Baltimore’s schools chief sent a letter warning of consequences for violent response to a verdict of a police officer’s trial in Freddie Gray’s death.

Schools CEO Gregory Thornton said Monday that schools will facilitate student expression but warned of consequences for “walkouts, vandalism, civil disorder and any form of violence.”

Activist group Baltimore Bloc said in a statement Tuesday that students won’t allow their “voices to be stifled” and will issue a call to action if the justice system fails.

ACLU of Maryland Executive Director Susan Goering says students have a First Amendment right and the letter could end up “chilling legitimate, peaceful protest activity.”

Youth clergy and leaders plan the “Youth Stepping Up and Speaking Out” event Tuesday to urge expression “in decency and order” regardless of the verdict.

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4:30 a.m.

Prosecutors say it would have taken just two clicks for Officer William Porter to save Freddie Gray’s life: one click to buckle the shackled man into a seatbelt in the back of the police transport van; another click to call into his police radio for an ambulance after Gray said he needed a medic.

But Porter’s attorneys say he did more than enough for Gray on the day the detainee’s neck was broken in the back of the van. They say Gray’s death had nothing to do with the officer’s actions.

A Baltimore jury on Monday began deliberating the fate of Porter, the first of six officers charged in Gray’s death to stand trial. He’s charged with manslaughter, assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment.

Deliberations continue Tuesday.