By Kasey Jones
Associated Press
BALTIMORE — The last of six Baltimore police officers involved in the 2015 arrest of a young black man who died from a spinal cord injury he sustained in a police van won’t face a disciplinary hearing after the police commissioner decided not to proceed.
Sgt. Alicia White was scheduled to face a trial board and possible termination on Dec. 5 related to Freddie Gray’s arrest and van transport.
But Wednesday night, Commissioner Kevin Davis dismissed the scheduled administrative hearing. White will face no further administrative actions, police spokesman T.J. Smith said in an email.
White’s attorney told The Baltimore Sun that White was “grateful” for the decision.
“She has always maintained her innocence from the very beginning,” Tony Garcia said.
Davis’ decision came less than a week after a police disciplinary board cleared Lt. Brian Rice, the highest-ranking officer involved in the Gray arrest. The same three-member panel, made up of law enforcers, recently found the police van’s driver not guilty.
The evidence and allegations against White are the same as the previous two hearings, and Davis did not feel another hearing would be in good faith, Smith said.
“We look forward to continuing the many reform efforts underway that will ensure the BPD is serving our city in a manner consistent with the expectations of our residents,” Smith said.
The death of the 25-year-old Gray set off Baltimore’s worst riots in decades and led to a federal investigation into allegations of police abuse. Baltimore and the Justice Department entered into a reform agreement after a scathing report by the federal agency outlined widespread misconduct and abuse within the city’s police department.
Rice and other officers also were acquitted of criminal charges in Gray’s arrest and death.