Along with the case against Miller, the City State’s Attorney’s Office is dropping charges against Sgt. Alicia White and Ofc. William Porter. White’s trial was scheduled for October and Porter’s retrial—his first trial ended in a hung jury—was scheduled for December. With the dropping of all charges, the gag order imposed in the cases was also rescinded by Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams.

Prosecutors had failed to earn a conviction in the first of four trials of the six officers charged in connection with the death of the 25-year-old Gray, who suffered fatal spinal injuries in custody while being transported in the back of a police van.

Ofc. Caesar Goodson, the driver of the police transport van, was acquitted of all charges, including the most serious facing any of the six officers—second-degree depraved heart murder—in late June. Ofc. Edward Nero and Lt. Brian Rice were acquitted of charges ranging from second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and misconduct in office.

The timing of the decision this morning by prosecutors was a surprise, but ultimately not wholly unexpected. It comes as apparent acknowledgement of the unlikelihood of earning a conviction in the rest of the cases after the previous acquittal rulings by Williams, who was expected to preside over the remaining trials from the bench as well. Nero, who was on hand in support of Miller, said he was “relieved” by the decision to drop the charges.

At a press conference held at the site of Freddie Gray’s arrest, City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby defended her decision to bring charges against the six officers last April.

“Despite that challenges of not having an independent investigatory agency to work with us throughout this process, we still are grateful for the opportunity to show the world the reality of the justice system from start to finish,” Mosby said. “The legitimacy of our prosecution efforts were affirmed time and time again.”

Mosby also placed blame for her office’s failure to successfully prosecute the cases on the Baltimore Police Department. There were “lead detectives that were completely uncooperative and started a counter-investigation to disprove the state’s case by not executing search warrants.”

At every step of the way, Mosby said, due process was afforded to all of the officers.

She said she recognized that Judge Williams made it clear that he does not agree with the State’s theory in the case—essentially that the officers were criminally negligent in detaining and failing to seatbelt Gray—adding that her office “does not believe that Freddie Gray killed himself.”

“As a mother, the decision not to proceed on these trials is agonizing,” Mosby said. “What I’ve ultimately learned throughout this arduous process is that . . . justice is always worth the price paid for its pursuit.”

“For those that believe that I’m anti-police, it’s simply not the case. I am anti-police brutality,” she added to cheers from onlookers gathered at the press conference.

Finally, Mosby said: “Without communal oversight of policing in this community, without real substantive reforms to the current criminal justice system, we could try this case a hundred times, and cases just like it, and we would still end up with the same result.”

Some observers have called for Mosby to step down in light of the failed prosecutions, alleging she over-reached in bringing the charges against the officers initially. George Washington University public interest law professor John Banzhaf III has said he intended to file a complaint against Mosby with the Maryland Attorney Grievance Commission.

Harvard Law School criminal law professor and director of the Criminal Justice Institute, Ronald Sullivan defended Mosby’s decision to bring charges in an op-ed to The Baltimore Sun this week.

In a statement, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said the Baltimore Police Department will still complete an administrative review of each officer involved. “I recognize the emotional nature of this case,” Rawlings-Blake said. “The eyes of the nation, indeed the world, have been on Baltimore for a very long time and I thank the citizens of our city for their patience during these trials. Now I ask the citizens to again join me in being patient as the administrative process moves forward.”

The Baltimore Police Department said they would not make a formal comment at this time, but would release a statement later.

“Everybody wanted to find out what happened to Freddie Gray,” Ivan Bates, defense attorney for Sgt. White, commented. “The Baltimore City Police Department did the investigation and they said it was an accident. The [Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office] had an opportunity to do an in-depth investigation, and they did not. It is the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s office that has denied justice to the Gray family.”

Gene Ryan, president of the Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police, responded to the announcement this afternoon at a press conference.

“The state’s attorney simply could not accept the evidence,” Ryan said. “There was no wrongdoing by any officer.”

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Williams rejected pre-trial motion arguments by defense attorneys that their clients would be unable to get a fair trial in city. Defense attorneys argued that media coverage, statements by Baltimore state’s attorney general Marilyn Mosby, the riots that broke out after Gray’s death, a leak of the medical examiner’s report, as well as the City’s recent $6.4 million civil settlement with Gray’s family, had prejudiced the city’s 622,00 residents—and potential 275,000 jurors—against the six police officers to the point where impounding impartial juries was impossible.

Williams said the defense team’s argument—made by attorney Ivan Bates, representing Sgt. Alicia White in the case—“did not carry the day” and did not reach the burden requiring a change of venue set forth by Maryland’s state constitutions and U.S. Supreme Court.

The Baltimore People’s Power Assembly, which has protested in the past against police brutality, demonstrated in front of the Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Courthouse on North Calvert as they had before last week’s hearing.

After the ruling, exuberant demonstrators, a relatively small but vocal group numbering in the dozens shouted, “That trial stays here! The trial stays here!”

Earlier, interim Baltimore City police commissioner Kevin Davis showed up at the peaceful protests at the courthouse. Some demonstrators were not happy to see Davis, chanting, “Commissioner go home!”

“This is Baltimore’s time to get it right. Citizens ought to be able to look into the eyes of the defendants,” said Rev. C. D. Witherspoon. “It’s important that it stays in Baltimore. Just as it was important that Marilyn Mosby be allowed to continue in the case; just as it was important that the charges be allowed to stand.”

University of Maryland law professor Douglas Colbert noted that moving jurisdictions is “rarely ever done.” He called the ruling “critical.”

Prior to the hearing, Colbert said removing the case to another jurisdiction “would almost be an insult to residents of the city.”

“I believe in our jury system more than any other part of our legal system,” Colbert said.

Those sentiments were echoed by Michael Schatzow, the chief deputy state’s attorney for Baltimore City, in rebutting the defense team’s effort to remove the case from the city’s jurisdiction.

Schatzow also noted that an “incredible amount of discretion” remains in the hands of the trial judge as part of the jury selection process.

“It would be insulting to the citizens of Baltimore [to remove the case to another jurisdiction],” Schatzow argued. “We have a very large, diverse citizenship.”

In making his ruling, Williams essentially concurred with Schatzow, saying, “the citizens of Baltimore are not a monolithic group” and had “the integrity and intellect” to form their own opinions—outside of those expressed by city leaders, clergy, and others.

“To presume prejudice is not fair to the defendants, who have a right to be tried in the jurisdiction where the event occurred,” Williams said.

The pre-trial motion hearing today came one day after mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s administration and the City Board of Estimates approved the wrongful death payout to Gray’s family. That move was praised by some for avoiding potentially even costlier and divisive litigation—and criticized as premature by others—who said the settlement would affect jurors and impact the officers’ ability to receive a fair trial in Baltimore.

In a statement released after the wrongful death settlement was announced, Lt. Gene Ryan, president of Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge #3, called the decision by city officials “obscene and without regard to the fiduciary responsibility owed to the taxpaying citizens of the City.”

Ryan also said the settlement “threatens to interrupt any progress made toward restoring the relationship between members of the Baltimore Police Department and the Baltimore City government.

Rawlings-Blake said the settlement agreement “should not be interpreted as a judgment on the guilt or innocence of the officers facing trial.” She also said that along with potentially saving taxpayers money, the settlement would avoid “protracted litigation that would only make it more difficult for our city to heal.”

A trial date in the Gray case has been set for Oct. 13, though it likely will be pushed back after Williams’ ruled against a motion by prosecutors to try three of the officers together last week.

The six officers are currently set to be tried separately. None have been required to be in attendance at the pre-trial motion hearings.

Baltimore police officer Caesar Goodson faces the most serious charge—second-degree “depraved-heart” murder—in the death of Gray, who was fatally injured while being transported in a van driven by Goodson. Lt. Brian Rice, Sgt. Alicia White and officer William Porter face manslaughter charges. All six of the officers, who also include Edward Nero and Garret Miller, have been charged with second-degree assault, misconduct and reckless endangerment.

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