The judge concluded that Officer Nero played little role in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray, who died in police custody.

THIS-MORNING-05

MORNING-05

arrest and death of Freddie Gray, who died in police custody.>

Inside, he burst into tears when Judge Barry Williams acquitted him on all

counts. The judge rejected the State`s claim of recklessness and

negligence, saying "...the state has not met its burden to prove, beyond a

reasonable doubt, all required elements of the crimes charged.">

CHIP REID (CBS News National Correspondent): Well, good morning. The judge concluded that Officer Nero played little role in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray, who died in police custody. Nero is the second of six officers to go to trial. The first ended in a mistrial.

(Begin VT)

CHIP REID: Edward Nero entered the courthouse Monday unsure about his future. Inside, he burst into tears when Judge Barry Williams acquitted him on all counts. The judge rejected the State`s claim of recklessness and negligence, saying "...the state has not met its burden to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, all required elements of the crimes charged." In a statement, Nero`s attorney said his client is "...elated that this nightmare is finally over..." Nero, seen here during Freddie Gray`s arrest, was not charged in his death. His most serious charges were assault and failing to buckle Gray into the police van, where he sustained a fatal spinal cord injury.

WOMAN: Hey, hey.

CHIP REID: Gray`s death sparked protests, riots, and then action from the State`s attorney Marilyn Mosby.

MARILYN MOSBY: We have probable cause to file criminal charges.

CHIP REID: Monday, the Baltimore Police Union blasted the state`s Attorney`s Office saying it, quote, "...responded to the riots and violence in Baltimore by rushing to charge these officers rashly and without any meaningful investigation."

BILLY MURPHY: Police union needs to shut up and let justice do its job.

CHIP REID: Billy Murphy, the attorney for Freddie Gray`s family, says the case against the other officers, especially those charged directly in Gray`s death is far from over.

BILLY MURPHY: Judge Williams is very careful to distinguish this officer`s lack of culpability from any of the other officers.

CHIP REID: But so far two of the six officers have gone to trial with no convictions.

(End VT)

CHIP REID: Officer Caesar Goodson, the driver of the van that transported Gray, is scheduled to go to trial in about two weeks. He is scheduled with second-degree depraved heart murder and after last year`s riots that is the trial that has Baltimore holding its collective breath. Norah.

NORAH O`DONNELL: No doubt. Chip, thank you so much.

The Supreme Court is giving a black man on death row a chance at a new trial. Timothy Foster was convicted of raping and murdering a white woman in 1987. The justices ruled seven to one yesterday that prosecutors improperly kept other blacks off the jury. They pointed to evidence from a prosecutor`s handwritten notes on a list of possible jurors titled "Definite No`s." The top five people were African-Americans.

GAYLE KING: Federal investigators want to know why a skydiving plane crashed and burst into flames in Hawaii. The crash killed all five people on board. The single-engine Cessna went down yesterday on the island of Kauai near the Port Allen Airport. It carried a pilot, two instructors, and two tandem jumpers. Witnesses say that the plane appeared to have engine troubl shortly after takeoff.

CHARLIE ROSE: A Virgin America flight was forced to land after, apparently, hitting a bird in Denver.

MAN #1 (Flight 865/recorded message): We`re level ten thousand. Suspect that a bird strike on departure. We`ll need to return to Denver.

MAN #2 (Tower/recorded message): You know where the bird strike was?

MAN #1: Uh, we`re assuming it was right engine.

CHARLIE ROSE: The pilot of Flight 865 declared an emergency just after taking off yesterday for San Francisco. The Airbus A-320 returned safely to the Denver airport. No one was hurt, and the plane is being inspected.

NORAH O`DONNELL: The biggest auto recall in U.S. history is expanding again. Toyota is recalling about 1.6 million more cars to replace faulty airbag inflators. The Takata airbags can explode and send shrapnel into drivers and passengers. The defect is blamed for at least eleven deaths worldwide. More than sixty-three million vehicles by seventeen automakers are affected. To see the latest models recalled, you can visit CBSThisMorning.com.

GAYLE KING: New auto crash tests find some of America`s best-known muscle cars are well, a little weak.

NORAH O`DONNELL: Mm.

GAYLE KING: Testers rated the Chevy Camaro, the Ford Mustang, and the Dodge Challenger, good for protecting passengers from side impacts and overlap frontal crashes, but the Camaro was rated low for roof strength, and the Challenger performed the worst. Regulators say these muscle cars are more likely to crash, so they need the best occupant protection.

CHARLIE ROSE: Mm-Hm.

Tornadoes and large hail could strike again today in parts of the Great Plains. A twister touched down yesterday near the Oklahoma Panhandle in Woodward. No damage was reported.

And people in southern Pennsylvania got a little tas-- a late taste of winter. Nickel--nickel-sized hail pounded car windshields in Red Lion, west of Philadelphia. It piled up on roads and front lawns.

GAYLE KING: Are you supposed to get hail in May?

NORAH O`DONNELL: I know.

GAYLE KING: Anywhere in the United States.

NORAH O`DONNELL: There`s crazy weather this May.

CHARLIE ROSE: Big, big-sized--

NORAH O`DONNELL: Yeah.

GAYLE KING: That`s right.

NORAH O`DONNELL: All right. A remarkable feat overnight on the world`s tallest peak. And we`ve been following it in real time. Ahead, what makes the climbers` journey to the top Mount Everest so rare? We`ll have an update.

But, first, it`s seven nineteen, time to check your local weather.

(LOCAL WEATHER BREAK)

(ANNOUNCEMENTS)

NORAH O`DONNELL: A crucial morning in the sex assault case against Bill Cosby.

GAYLE KING: Ahead, Rikki Klieman on the woman whose testimony could lead to a criminal trial and why that that`s a risk for prosecutors?

CHARLIE ROSE: The news is back in the morning right here on CBS THIS MORNING.

(ANNOUNCEMENTS)

NORAH O`DONNELL: Ahead, the great Steve Martin in Studio 57. He`s bringing the star of his new musical, who received a Tony nomination in her Broadway debut.

GAYLE KING: She`s good.

And remember to watch the CBS EVEING NEWS tonight. Charlie is filling in tonight for Scott Pelley. Your local news is coming up next.

(ANNOUNCEMENTS)

END

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