BALTIMORE — Jurors said they were deadlocked Tuesday as they weighed manslaughter and other charges against a police officer in the death of Freddie Gray. The judge told them to keep deliberating, and they went home for the night without reaching a verdict.
The jury reported its failure to agree in a note to Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams after about nine hours of discussions over two days. It wasn’t clear if they were stuck on one or more of the four charges Officer William Porter faces. He is the first of six officers to stand trial.
Armored vehicles and police were stationed around the city, and officials promised they were prepared for unrest. Parts of the city burned last spring after Gray’s death triggered frustrations over the department’s alleged mistreatment of black people.
Earlier Tuesday, jurors requested highlighters, an easel and sticky notes, suggesting a businesslike approach to assessing Porter’s role in Gray’s arrest and death.
They also received computer speakers to improve the sound quality of recordings in evidence, including Porter’s videotaped interview with Baltimore police detectives, police radio transmissions on the day Gray was arrested and cellphone videos made at two of the wagon’s six stops.
In all, the jury heard from more than two dozen witnesses and received about 100 pieces of evidence in the trial, which began Nov. 30.
