Lt. Brian Rice, 42, faces charges of involuntary manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment, and misconduct in office in the death of the 25-year-old Gray, who died last April from injuries suffered while being transported in a police van.

To date, two officers involved with the arrest and transportation of Gray—Edward Nero and Caesar Goodson Jr.—have been acquitted of all charges in the case. Officer William Porter’s trial ended in a hung jury and he is scheduled to be tried again in September.

Nero and Goodson each sought bench trials, with Baltimore City Circuit Judge Barry Williams determining their fate, as has Rice.

Officer Garrett Miller is scheduled for trial at the end of this month. Sgt. Alicia White is scheduled for trial in October.

At issue in Rice’s case—and in each of the trials thus far—was the failure to properly secure Gray in the back of the police transport van while in custody. Defense attorneys in the other cases have argued that the officers did not receive proper training in the securing of the detainees, and that they hadn’t been aware of new departmental guidelines requiring the seatbelting of all detainees. Defense attorneys have also argued that officers are allowed to use their discretion in seatbelting detainees who may be considered a physical threat.

Prosecutors had hoped to introduce some 4,000 pages of documents—evidence related to Rice’s training, according to The Baltimore Sun—into court, but were denied this week by Williams. The judge ruled that the prosecutors had sought and turned over the documents to Rice’s lawyers too late in the process.

Rice was one of three Baltimore bicycle patrol officers who chased and detained Gray at the Gilmor Homes public housing complex in West Baltimore early Sunday morning on April 12, 2015. He was also one of the officers who first placed Gray into the back of the police transport van.

As the highest-ranking officer on duty that day at the Western District police station, Rice had authority over the officers on the scene, prosecutors argued in their opening statement. Legal observers largely agree, however, that prosecutors face an uphill battle in the Rice trial, particularly given their failure to earn a conviction on any charges against Goodson, the van driver, who had direct custody of Gray after he was placed in the transport vehicle.

Nonetheless, University of Baltimore law professor David Jaros noted that the public still has yet to hear the statement Rice gave investigators after Gray’s fatal arrest and ride.

“Because we don’t know his statement, we don’t know if there’s different support for some of the key elements that we couldn’t find in the prior trials,” Jaros told the Sun. “We also have a slightly different set of circumstances.”

It still remains unclear why Gray was arrested and ultimately placed into the back of the van—other than that he’d initially run from police in a so-called high crime area after allegedly making eye contact with an officer. Gray was eventually found to have a small knife in his possession, but whether the knife was legal or illegal in Baltimore City hasn’t been an issue in court.

Allegations of police brutality have received renewed attention this week in the wake of deadly and controversial police shootings of citizens in Louisiana and Minnesota that were captured on video.

Some have questioned City State’s Attorney General Marilyn Mosby for going forward with charges against the remaining officers in lieu of any convictions thus far. But University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law professor Douglas Colbert said after Goodson’s acquittal that, if nothing else, the public is learning how criminal, policing, and judicial systems function in the city.

“It’s like two totally different judicial systems, and I’m talking about white folks, in upscale neighborhoods, who generally have positive interactions with police,” Colbert said. “I think it’s important for them to see how different the interactions of people of color with law enforcement often are.”

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We talked with University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law professor Douglas Colbert about juror selection, the prosecution’s burden, and his faith in the jury process. Colbert teaches criminal law, constitutional law, evidence, and race and criminal justice seminar.

You’ve been following the cases very closely, attending pre-trial motions and now the first trial in court. Why are these cases important for you to follow in person, in court—and for others to follow closely beyond just waiting for a verdict?
Colbert: Historically, cases like this, involving a police officer accused of killing someone in the line of duty, are a rare occurrence. Usually, the police department and state’s attorney’s office puts out statements, say that there’s an investigation underway, and then months later declares that the action by the officer was justified. The public doesn’t learn anything and the lack of transparency adds to the distrust. End of story. Here we have the rare local prosecutors willing to follow the evidence at trial. In court, evidence will be submitted, and testimony given and cross-examined, which will offer insight into what happened as well as how the police department functions.

How much of this first trial will come down to jury selection?
Jury selection is critical—that’s the short answer. It’s essential to select people who will consider the evidence in a fair and impartial manner . . . Jury selection eliminates people who have already formed an opinion or who show bias in favor of one side. It’s important that the prosecution eventually looks at a jury that reflects the city’s demographics and diversity. A multi-racial jury, by that I mean, 6, 7, or 8 African-Americans . . . And I don’t think lawyers for the African-American police defendant will get bent out of shape as they might when defending a white police officer if the jury looks like their client. Black jurors know both professional and good police officers as well as unprofessional officers and can make the distinction between the two because of their experiences. I’ve got to say, in the American criminal justice process, I have more faith in the jury system than anything else. Even when I’ve disagreed with an outcome, I’ve still always believed that ordinary people take their juror responsibilities seriously and act conscientiously.

What’s the challenge for jurors in the Porter case?
I think the challenge for jurors is to focus on what occurred from the time Porter observed Freddie Gray in the van. The prosecution wants the clock to begin from the time he was apprehended, cuffed and left unrestrained in an apparently injured condition. I think the defense will want jurors to consider bigger issues, in terms of the police fighting crime, doing a dangerous job and acting reasonably under the circumstances.

What’s the crux of this and the other cases?
The prosecution must meet its burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If the prosecution establishes that the police officer, or police officers, were aware of Freddie Gray’s plea for help, or acted with extreme negligence in causing his death—by not taking him for medical treatment—that would be a very important part of the prosecution’s homicide case. A police officer has a legal duty to provide medical assistance to prisoners and people taken into custody.

What about the allegation that Gray was not seat-belted in the transport van—which is said to have led to his ultimately fatal spinal cord injury?
If there’s evidence that the police trained its officers to restrain and protect prisoners, or police officers disregarded a significant risk of danger to life or severe injury—that would certainly show a wanton disregard for Freddie Gray’s life and bodily safety. How to prove that is a legal obligation [securing Gray in the van]—is the prosecution’s burden of proof.

Prosecutors will rely on several pieces of evidence in the courtroom. Evidence that Freddie Gray said, ‘I need help,’ or ‘Take me to the hospital’ or ‘Help me’—that’s one of the centerpieces of the prosecution’s case. And evidence that police officers were informed on how they should employ safety practices inside the van, including training and appropriate practice, also will be key to the prosecution’s case if those things were made clear.

How much time is Porter potentially facing is found guilty?
If convicted on the most serious charges, up to 10 years.

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