Mistrial in case against Baltimore officer could have 'domino effect'

Demonstrators protest outside of the courthouse in response to a hung jury and mistrial for Officer William Porter, one of six Baltimore city police officers charged in connection to the death of Freddie Gray, Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

William Porter is the first of six officers to be tried in the death of Freddie Gray. Wednesday's mistrial could affect the state's cases against the remaining five.

A judge declared a mistrial in the case of Baltimore Police Officer William Porter Wednesday.

Porter is the first of six officers facing charges in the death of 25-year-old black man Freddie Gray. Investigators found that Gray suffered a severe spinal cord injury in the back of a police van last April.

Luke Broadwater, a City Hall reporter for the Baltimore Sun, says the state attorney chose to try Porter first so that he could act as a witness against the other five officers. He says Wednesday's mistrial could now push those cases into 2017.

William Porter is the first of six officers to be tried in the death of Freddie Gray. Wednesday's mistrial could affect the state's cases against the remaining five.

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