Judge in officer’s trial: Is failure to seat belt a crime?
BALTIMORE — The trial for the highest-ranking officer charged in the death of a 25-year-old black man who was fatally injured in the back of a police van may hinge on a simple question: Should the officer have put a seat belt on Freddie Gray?
Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams, who will decide the case of Lt. Brian Rice, focused on that question during closing arguments Thursday, asking prosecutors if they believed it was a crime not to put a seat belt on Gray.
“So, failure to restrain equals criminal act?” the judge asked.
Michael Schatzow, chief deputy state’s attorney, replied that it was, because to leave Gray face down on the floor of the van in handcuffs and leg shackles amounted to Rice not taking reasonable action to ensure his safety.