Officer Caesar Goodson was acquitted by a Baltimore Circuit Court on Thursday. He faced the most serious charges — second degree “depraved heart” murder — of the six officers charged in the case.
(BuzzFeed)- Baltimore police officer Caesar Goodson, Jr. was found not guilty Thursday of all charges, including second-degree depraved-heart murder in the death of Freddie Gray.
Judge Barry Williams concluded that prosecutors didn’t prove that the 46-year-old Goodson, who drove the van that transported Gray to central booking, intentionally gave him a “rough ride” resulting in his death from spinal injuries sustained while he was in custody. It was a bench trial, meaning there was no jury in the case.
Gray was arrested on April 12, 2015 in the Sandtown neighborhood of Baltimore. After he was taken into custody, he was shackled and loaded into a police van. The van made several stops on its way to the Western District station, where Gray was found unresponsive. His neck was broken and his spinal cord was compressed and he died a week later, according to a medical examiner’s report.
Goodson is the third of six officer to face a trial in the case — none have been found guilty. Six officers in total are facing charges. Goodson faced the most serious charge in the case of second-degree “depraved heart” murder.