The First Freddie Gray Trial Is Today

For months, protesters in Baltimore have demanded justice for Freddie Gray, who died after sustaining injuries while in police custody — and now that process has begun. Six Baltimore police officers have been charged in the death of Freddie Gray and each one will be tried separately, but when will each Freddie Gray officer trial start? The first trial will begin on Monday for William Porter, while the last trial, for Lt. Brian Rice, will begin next year in March. Regardless of what each verdict is, the city of Baltimore can expect to see more civil unrest surrounding the trials as it faces a few very tense months ahead.

Monday's trial for officer Porter will begin with selecting the jury, which will comprise of residents of Baltimore despite the defense's request to move the trial out of the city. After the jury is selected, which could take several days, Porter is expected to take the stand to kick off the defense. Porter has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, and misconduct in office, and has pleaded not guilty to his charges. If he is convicted, he could face a minimum of 10 years in prison.

The second officer to be tried is Caesar Goodson Jr., who drove the van in which Gray was being transported and sustained a spinal injury that led to his death a week later. His trial will start Jan. 6.

Goodson has been charged with second-degree depraved-heart murder, involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, two counts of manslaughter by vehicle (gross negligence and criminal negligence), misconduct in office, and reckless endangerment. He has also pleaded not guilty and could face a prison sentence of up to 30 years for his second-degree depraved-heart murder charge alone.

After Goodson, Sgt. Alicia White will take the stand when her trial begins Jan. 25. White has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office, and reckless endangerment. She has also pleaded not guilty and faces up to 10 years if convicted.

The next officer to go on trial will be officer Garrett Miller, who has been charged with two counts of second-degree assault, two counts of misconduct in office, and one count of reckless endangerment. His trial is set for Feb. 9. He has also pleaded not guilty.

Next up will be officer Edward Nero, whose trial will begin on Feb. 22. He has also pleaded not guilty to the same charges as Miller: two counts of second-degree assault, two counts of misconduct in office, and one count of reckless endangerment. If convicted, these two officers would face a penalty of up to 10 years for each second-degree assault charge alone.

The last officer to take the stand will be Lt. Brian Rice, whose trial is scheduled for March 9. Rice has been charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree assault, two counts of misconduct in office, and one count of reckless endangerment. He could face 10 years in prison if he is convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

Gray was arrested by the officers on April 12, 2015 and died a week later on April 19 after suffering a severe spinal injury. What exactly happened inside the van during Gray's transport has remained unclear, but the officers' trials will hopefully shed some much-needed light on the mysterious circumstances.