Edward Nero, arresting officer of Freddie Gray, NOT GUILTY. Will Baltimore erupt once more?

Freddie Gray case has ignited the public debate over police tactics.

The arresting officer in the Freddie Gray case, Edward Nero, has been declared "not guilty" by the judge in his criminal trial. Now, the community waits to see if violence will erupt or if the streets will remain quiet.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) - Officer Edward Nero has been found not guilty, following his trial on charges of second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and misconduct. The verdict comes just 12 days after the start of his trial. Nero opted to have his case heard by the judge.

Nero was the arresting officer in the case of Freddie Gray, a black man who died after being arrested by police on April 12, 2015. He died while in a coma on April 19.

Police arrested Gray, 25, after they saw him acting suspiciously in public. Specifically, he attempted to flee when he made eye contact with officers. Once they stopped him, they noticed he had a knife in his pocket, a form of spring-loaded blade which is illegal in the city of Baltimore.

Gray was arrested and placed into a police van for transport to jail. Eyewitnesses and video suggests that extreme physical force may have been used against Gray. During the ride to jail, Gray was handcuffed and later put into leg irons, but was not belted into his seat.

The media has accused the police of taking Gray on a "rough ride" which is to drive erratically and cause a prisoner to bounce about the back of a van. This is considered a form of police brutality. Such a ride can cause injury and department policy was changed six days prior to require prisoners to be belted in, but the policy was not followed. Police have argued that it is not always safe to enter the van to buckle prisoners.

Doctors who performed the autopsy on Gray found his neck was broken and spine 80 percent severed. His injuries were consistent with trauma suffered in the back of the van, including a mark that matched a bolt on the interior.

In the wake of his death, riots erupted in Baltimore which required the calling of the National Guard to quell protests. The riots led to widespread destruction of property.

It has since been learned that Freddie Gray already had a record of arrests, mostly on drug charges. The knife he carried was not illegal, as police initially claimed.

His death has ignited a firestorm of controversy, particularly over police brutality and the unusually aggressive policing of black communities in the United States.

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