Baltimore police officer William Porter must testify against his five colleagues charged in the Freddie Gray case while he awaits his own retrial, a Maryland court ruled Tuesday.
According to USA Today, Porter's testimony in the case against Caesar Goodson Jr., the officer facing the most serious charge of second-degree depraved-heart murder, could be crucial, as he said in his own trial that he was in the van Goodson drove for most of the 45-minute ride that transported Freddie Gray.
Porter's attorney previously argued that each testimony the officer gave risked a perjury charge, but the Court of Appeals ruled against him. It did not give a reason for the decision, but said one was forthcoming.
With the decision, the cases for the other five officers will return to a lower court and proceed with trials.
Gray, 25, was transported without a seatbelt in the back of a police van in April, and an autopsy revealed that the young man suffered a serious injury that was likely the result of a sudden stop. He died a week later.
Porter has maintained that he did nothing wrong during the arrest, and that it was the van driver's responsibility to make sure transported persons are put in a seatbelt,
The Associated Press reported. He is charged with involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment, and assault.
He testified further that Goodson declined to take Gray to the hospital after the young man agreed to it, and instead picked up another arrestee.
In a civil case that ended in September, the City of Baltimore agreed to pay Gray's family $6.4 million in a settlement.
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