SA details roles of each of 6 charged officers in Freddie Gray death

Six officers are charged in Freddie Gray’s death from injuries he suffered while in police custody. State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby says the officers repeatedly failed to get Gray medical treatment after his arrest. The police officers’ union has said they are not responsible for Gray’s death.

Here is a look at each of the six officers.

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OFFICER CAESAR R. GOODSON Jr.

Goodson was the driver of the van that transported Freddie Gray, and he faces the most serious charges. Mosby said Friday that Goodson repeatedly failed — at least five times — to seatbelt Gray in the transport vehicle. Overall, Goodson faces six charges, including “second-degree depraved heart murder,” which carries a potential 30-year sentence.

Goodson, 45, has been on the force since 1999, and like two others charged in Gray’s death is black. The three other officers are white.

Friends describe Goodson as a family man who likes to watch football and works part time as an auto mechanic at a shop specializing in Saabs. With help, he restored a green Saab convertible, a car one friend says he only takes out a few times a year. He wasn’t scheduled to work on the day Gray was arrested but had been asked to work overtime, friends said.

A friend who worked with him as a mechanic said Goodson had hoped to retire in several years.

An obituary for his mother published in The Baltimore Sun in 2012 says his grandfather was a police officer.

The charges:

• Second degree depraved heart murder (30 yrs.)
• Manslaughter (involuntary) (10 yrs.)
• Assault/second degree (10 yrs.)
• Manslaughter by vehicle (gross negligence) (10 yrs.)
• Manslaughter by vehicle (criminal negligence) (3 yrs.)
• Misconduct in office (8th Amendment*)

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LT. BRIAN W. RICE

Rice was on bike patrol when he made eye contact with Freddie Gray on a Baltimore street April 12. Gray ran, and Rice pursued him. Bike patrol officers Garrett Miller and Edward Nero joined the pursuit.

Rice, 41, is the most senior officer to be charged. He joined the police force in 1997 and was promoted to lieutenant in 2011, police said. Records obtained by The Associated Press from a sheriff’s department and court show he was hospitalized in April 2012 following concerns about his mental health. Worries about his stability led deputies to confiscate both his official and personal guns, and his commanding officer was called. It was not immediately clear whether or when all of Rice’s guns were returned.

The Charges:

• Manslaughter (involuntary) (10 yrs.)
• Assault/second degree (10 yrs.)
• Assault/second degree (10 yrs.)
• Misconduct in office (8th Amendment*)
• Misconduct in office (8th Amendment*)
• False imprisonment (8th Amendment*)

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OFFICER GARRETT E. MILLER AND OFFICER EDWARD M. NERO

Gray surrendered to Miller, 26, and Nero, 29. Miller and Nero handcuffed Gray and put him on the ground. Gray told the officers that he couldn’t breathe and requested an inhaler, Mosby said. The two officers, both of whom joined the police force in 2012, sat Gray up and found a folded knife clipped to the inside of his pants pocket, a knife that is lawful under Maryland law, Mosby said. Previously, police have said they found a switchblade.

Mosby said Gray didn’t commit any crime, and the officers “illegally arrested Mr. Gray.”

The officers put the knife on the sidewalk and then put Gray back down on his stomach, when he started to flail his legs and scream, Mosby said.

Nero held Gray down until Goodson arrived driving a police transport van. Miller, Nero and Rice then put Gray inside.

While Gray was being transported, Miller, Nero and Rice took him out of the wagon and put flex handcuffs and leg shackles on him. After that stop, they put Gray back into the van on his stomach without a seatbelt.

Nero and White remain suspended with pay, according to Capt. Eric Kowalczyk, a spokesman for the Baltimore Police Department. The other four police charged are suspended without pay.

The charges:

• Assault/second degree (10 yrs.)
• Assault/second degree (10 yrs.)
• Misconduct in office (8th Amendment*)
• Misconduct in office (8th Amendment*)
• False imprisonment (8th Amendment*)

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OFFICER WILLIAM G. PORTER

At one point during the van ride, Goodson requested help checking on Gray. Porter, 25, who joined the force in 2012, responded. Both he and Goodson checked on Gray. Porter, who is black, helped Gray from the floor to a bench in the van, but neither Goodson nor Porter requested medical attention or put a seatbelt on Gray.

The charges:

• Manslaughter (involuntary) (10 yrs.)
• Assault/second degree (10 yrs.)
• Misconduct in office (8th Amendment*)

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SGT. ALICIA D. WHITE

White is the second-highest officer charged in the Gray case. She met the van at its stop to pick up the second person. White, 30, was responsible for investigating two citizen complaints about Gray’s arrest. White, who is black, joined the police in 2010 and was recently made a sergeant in January 2015, police said.

During the stop, White, Goodson and Porter saw Gray unresponsive on the floor. White “spoke to the back of Gray’s head” but he did not respond, Mosby said. The group did not call for medical assistance.

The charges:

• Manslaughter (involuntary) (10 yrs.)
• Assault/second degree (10 yrs.)
• Misconduct in office (8th Amendment*)