Washington, Dec 16 (EFE).- The judge in the first trial in the case of six Baltimore police officers charged in connection with the death in custody of African American Freddie Gray declared a mistrial Wednesday after the jurors told him they could not agree on a verdict.
Officer William G. Porter, 26, faced charges of involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office.
A court hearing to determine the date for a new trial is set for Thursday.
Porter was the first of the six police officers to go on trial for the death of Gray, 25, who died in a Baltimore hospital on April 19, a week after suffering a severe spinal injury while being transported to a police station.
Prosecutors said Gray suffered the fatal injury during the ride to the police station because he was placed in the transport van handcuffed and shackled, but without being secured with a seat-belt.
The officers also ignored Gray's pleas for medical attention.
His death set off days of protests and parts of Baltimore were rocked by violent disturbances April 27 following his funeral, prompting authorities to declare a state of emergency and briefly impose a 10 p.m.-5 a.m. curfew.
After learning of the mistrial, Baltimore police were deployed throughout the city to prevent protests or altercations, while community leaders called for calm and peaceful protests.
The mistrial could affect the cases against the other five officers.
In Porter's case, prosecutors tried to show, using experts and doctors' testimony, that the officer acted negligently by not fastening Gray's seatbelt and later refusing to obtain medical attention for him.
Meanwhile, the defense argued that Porter acted reasonably and that Gray's injuries were caused by an accident that the officer could not have prevented.
The jury, comprised of seven women and five men, deliberated for a total of 15 hours over three days before informing the judge that they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict.
