Article author:
Associated Press
BALTIMORE (AP) — One of six police officers charged in the fatal arrest of Freddie Gray in 2015 has been promoted from lieutenant to captain.
The Baltimore Sun reports that Alicia White will serve as captain of the bureau's Performance Standards Section. She had a similar role before being promoted on Friday.
Gray died in a police car after suffering a severe spinal cord injury. His death sparked days of rioting.
White was one of his six officers charged in the Gray case by Baltimore attorney Marilyn Mosby. Three of the officers were acquitted, and Mosby dropped charges against the other three, including White.
Federal prosecutors declined to press charges after an independent Department of Justice investigation.
In her 2016 interview with The Sun, after state charges were dropped. , White defended his actions.
"I still believe I did everything I was trained to do when I went to work that day," she said. "Unfortunately someone lost their life that day. But I feel like I did everything I was trained to do." Afterwards, White rushed to the scene to investigate complaints about the arrest. Mosby said White was responsible for investigating the arrest, but she only "talked to the back of Gray's head," she said. Mosby said White was unable to call a medic or properly assess his injuries.
White said that when he arrived at the scene, he saw Gray kneeling in the police car and asked if there was a problem. said she did not respond. She said she saw no reason to seek medical attention at the time.
Contrary to departmental regulations, Gray was not fastened with the wagon's seatbelt. When the van arrived in the Western District, officers said they found Gray not breathing in his back. White then called a doctor. Gray died from his injuries a week later.
