A Baltimore police officer charged in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray has filed a federal lawsuit against Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby, alleging false arrest, false imprisonment, and defamation, among other counts, according to federal court documents.
Lt. Brian Rice, one of six Baltimore officers charged in the Gray case, filed his lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Maryland on May 2, the same day two of the other officers — Sgt. Alicia White and Officer William Porter — filed a joint defamation lawsuit against Mosby in state Circuit Court. Documents in Rice's case were first unsealed on Monday.
Like White and Porter, whose lawsuit was unsealed in state court late last month, Rice is also suing Baltimore sheriff's office Maj. Sam Cogen, who signed off on the charging documents in the Gray case. Also like White and Porter, Rice claims in his lawsuit that Mosby and Cogen knew that he had committed no crime when they brought charges against him — including manslaughter, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and misconduct in office, reports the Baltimore Sun.
"His illegal arrest was made without probable cause and demonstrated ill will, improper motivation, and/or evil purpose," Rice's lawsuit says.
Rice seeks in excess of $75,000 in compensatory damages and in excess of $75,000 in punitive damages from both Mosby and Cogen for each of five counts — false arrest, false imprisonment, violation of his rights under the Maryland Declaration of Rights, violation of his federal civil rights, and defamation of character. He also seeks legal fees.
