# Officer Nero Not Guilty On All Charges **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 24, 2016, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-nero-not-guilty-on-all-charges/755505 "2016-05-24T00:04:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-nero-not-guilty-on-all-charges/755505/121 "2016-07-27T14:55:36Z")
Charges have been dropped against all remaining officers: [http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/freddie-gray/bs-md-ci-miller-pretrial-motions-20160727-story.html](http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/freddie-gray/bs-md-ci-miller-pretrial-motions-20160727-story.html) So apparently it must be due to bad roads–the driver couldn’t avoid hitting a pothole? Right… ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-nero-not-guilty-on-all-charges/755505/122 "2016-07-27T16:17:05Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > So apparently it must be due to bad roads–the driver couldn’t avoid hitting a pothole? Right… I thought one of the other prisoners in the van said he didn’t recall any rough ride. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-nero-not-guilty-on-all-charges/755505/123 "2016-07-27T16:20:03Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Charges have been dropped against all remaining officers: > [http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/freddie-gray/bs-md-ci-miller-pretrial-motions-20160727-story.html](http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/freddie-gray/bs-md-ci-miller-pretrial-motions-20160727-story.html) > > So apparently it must be due to bad roads–the driver couldn’t avoid hitting a pothole? Right… No, what it means is that none of the police officers’ actions amounted to criminality. The charges should never have been brought in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-nero-not-guilty-on-all-charges/755505/124 "2016-07-27T17:18:27Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I thought one of the other prisoners in the van said he didn’t recall any rough ride. That was my understanding as well. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-nero-not-guilty-on-all-charges/755505/125 "2016-07-29T14:46:45Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > No, what it means is that none of the police officers’ actions amounted to criminality. The charges should never have been brought in the first place. If I put someone I’ve argued with in my car and drive around for a while and that person dies of trauma, it doesn’t amount to criminality? Or is that assumption accorded only to police? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2016, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-nero-not-guilty-on-all-charges/755505/126 "2016-07-30T04:05:51Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > If I put someone I’ve argued with in my car and drive around for a while and that person dies of trauma, it doesn’t amount to criminality? Or is that assumption accorded only to police? It’s not an assumption. It’s very difficult for me to understand what aspects of this situation are confusing to you. You surely understand that if you put someone in your car against their will, regardless of whether there was an antecedent argument, that’s generally going to be the crime of kidnapping. You have no legal right to put anyone in your car, as a general rule, unless they wish to be in your car. The police, on the other hand, are not kidnappers when they effect a legal arrest. Do you understand this difference between you and the police? If you do, can you explain what motivated you to ask the question you did? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-nero-not-guilty-on-all-charges/755505/127 "2016-08-03T14:29:19Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > No, what it means is that none of the police officers’ actions amounted to criminality. The charges should never have been brought in the first place. No, it means there was not enough evidence to convict. In a civil case, it would not have been difficult to prove liability. This was not a civil case. We can be almost certain that one or more of the officers’ actions did amount to “criminality,” since a generally healthy man had his neck broken while shackled and in police custody. We just can’t convict anyone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-nero-not-guilty-on-all-charges/755505.md?page=6)