(CNN) — Statements that a Baltimore police officer charged in Freddie Gray’s death gave to investigators can be used in her trial, a Maryland circuit court judge ruled Tuesday at a pretrial hearing.
Defense attorneys for Sgt. Alicia White had wanted the statements ruled inadmissible, arguing in part that her employer — the Baltimore Police Department — had required them and therefore they were involuntary and not valid in court.
White is one of six officers charged in Gray’s death in April. One of the six, Officer William Porter, also is expected to ask Judge Barry Williams to rule his statements inadmissible later Tuesday.
Gray’s death while in police custody sparked outrage and demonstrations, some of which were plagued by arson, vandalism and looting despite his family’s pleas for peace. Authorities say Gray, 25, suffered a fatal spinal injury while being transported in a police van in April.
