USA

Retrial Date Set for Officer in Freddie Gray Death

FILE - William Porter, right, one of six Baltimore city police officers charged in connection to the death of Freddie Gray, walks into a courthouse with his attorney Joseph Murtha on Nov. 30, 2015, in Baltimore.

A Baltimore judge has set a retrial date for policeman William Porter, whose trial in connection with the death of Freddie Gray ended last week in a hung jury.

Judge Barry Williams says Porter will be retried June 19, after the trials of five other officers charged in Gray's death.

The judge declared a mistrial last week when the jury could not reach a verdict in any of the charges against Porter — involuntary manslaughter, second degree assault, reckless endangerment, and misconduct.

Freddie Gray was a young African-American man who died a week after his spine was severed in the back of a police van in April.

He was handcuffed and shackled by his feet but not buckled into his seat after being arrested. This allegedly caused his body to slam against the side of the van.

Prosecutors allege Porter, who is also black, and the five other officers ignored Gray's pleas for medical help. Porter's defense says there is no evidence to convict.

Violence broke out in Baltimore on the day of Gray's funeral.

The next officer charged in Gray's death goes on trial January 6.