Judge: No evidence of crime in Freddie Gray death

BALTIMORE -- A judge explained why he found a police driver not guilty in the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man whose neck was broken on the way to the station: He didn't see any evidence of a crime.

Baltimore Judge Barry Williams ruled Thursday the state failed to prove officer Caesar Goodson committed murder, manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment or misconduct in office.

"There has been no evidence that this defendant intended for a crime to happen," Williams said. "The state had a duty to show the defendant corruptly failed in his duty, not just made a mistake."

Goodson's acquittal is the worst blow yet to efforts to hold police accountable in a case that triggered riots in the troubled city. The state's third failure to convict also casts doubt on whether any of the six indicted officers will be found guilty.

Baltimore's police union president, Gene Ryan, called on State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby to reconsider her "malicious prosecution" because he's certain the remaining officers also will be found without guilt.

The case became a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement and sparked outrage nationwide over how black people are treated by police and the criminal-justice system.

But the case hasn't fit quite so neatly into the American narrative of white authorities imposing justice unfairly on black people. In this case, the defendant, trial judge, state's attorney and mayor are African-American; at the time of Gray's death, so was the police chief.

After the verdict, Black Lives Matter activist and Baltimore native DeRay Mckesson aimed his criticism at the entire system.

"Today is a reminder that there is a set of laws, policies and police union contracts across the country that will protect any form of police behavior," he said.