Judge Barry Williams issued another not guilty verdict for one of the officers in the Freddie Gray case. Monday morning, the highest ranking officer in the Freddie Gray case was acquitted on all charges. Lt. Brian Rice was on bike patrol the day 25-year-old Freddie Gray suffered a broken neck in police transport. Rice was the officer who put Gray into the transport van after he was shackled, in which he failed to fasten Gray’s seat belt.

Originally Rice was charged with second degree assault, two misconduct charges, involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment. Judge Williams dismissed the second degree assault charge and the prosecutors dropped one of the misconduct charges. As the fourth officer to go to trial, just as two of his fellow officers he opted for a bench trial instead of a jury trial. Those two officers were acquitted on all charges. Only one officer has had a jury trial, which resulted in a hung jury. The previous trials have left the Baltimore community less than confident in State Attorney Marilyn Mosby to get a conviction for any of the officers. This verdict does not help the already outraged community that has lost its trust in getting justice.

Members of the community have spoken out about the officers continuously walking free without convictions such as the local NAACP chapter president Tessa Hill-Aston. “Everybody had a responsibility who had anything to do with putting Freddie Gray in the van, also driving him in the van, and also touching him,” she said.

The fight for justice isn’t over as the trials for the other officers are still scheduled. Officer Garrett Miller (July 27), Officer William Porter (September 6), and Sgt. Alicia White (October 13).

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