The trials of five Baltimore police officers charged over the death of Freddie Gray have been put on hold by a judge while Maryland's highest court determines whether a sixth officer can be made to testify against them.
"The decision will delay the trial of officer Edward Nero, which was scheduled to begin next Monday, as well as those of Garret Miller, Brian Rice, and the retrial of William Porter,"
Buzzfeed reported.
"The trials of the other two officers, Caesar Goodson and Alicia White, had been delayed by a previous decision."
Officer William G. Porter is the only officer to have gone to trial so far, as prosecutors had asked to try him first. They hoped to secure a conviction so he could testify against the other officers,
The Baltimore Sun explained.
An order by Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams compelling Porter to testify against two of the officers is being contested, while prosecutors are appealing a decision by Williams that blocked them from calling Porter for testimony against the three other officers.
Porter's first trial in December ended in a mistrial. The jury was one vote shy of acquitting Porter of involuntary manslaughter, the most serious charge against him.
Howard S. Chasanow, a retired Court of Appeals judge, said, "It's very unusual to have a pretrial ruling that is appealed like this," but said the high court could shorten the overall timeline off all six cases.
According to CNN, Gray, 25, died of a spinal injury after being arrested and put in the back of a police van in April of last year.
The incident drew national media coverage, and set off both peaceful demonstrations and rioting.
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