Baltimore. A city just to the north of Washington D.C. Rich in history. A city whose Fort McHenry withstood the bombardment of the British during the War of 1812, and while watching the shelling a young man by the name of Francis Scott Key wrote the awe-inspiring words to what is now our National Anthem.

Unfortunately, Baltimore today, has a much different reputation. It is a city of violence and unrest due in large part to the on-going repercussions of the Freddie Gray case. Much of which we’ve written about on this blog. Today we find out that the trial of Officer William Porter – one of six officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray has hit a snag.

Baltimore judge declares hung jury in trial of officer charged with manslaughter in Freddie Gray's death: https://t.co/QB8fTntPjP

— The Associated Press (@AP) December 16, 2015

Oh boy…that’s quite a snag! One wonders what happened? I mean, really! The prosecutors, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake,  the judge, and especially State Attorney Marilyn Mosby thought this first case (and likely all the others) were going to be a slam dunk of guilty! Evidently the jury had other ideas.

A quick review of the Freddie Gray case. In April of this year, Freddie Gray died of a spinal cord injury and broken neck in the back of a police transport van while enroute to booking after his arrest. Baltimore erupted into flames and the political powers-that-be looked for scapegoats. Officer William Porter is one of 6 police officers whom State Attorney Marilyn Mosby charged in Gray’s death.