Prosecutors have amassed more than 300,000 pieces of digital evidence in the case of six Baltimore police officers charged in connection with the death of Freddie Gray, according to a letter filed in court.
The evidence amounts to 52 gigabytes of digital files, Deputy State's Attorney Janice Bledsoe wrote. That is the same as 26 hours worth of high-definition movies on Netflix.
Prosecutors have a deadline of Friday to turn the evidence over to defense lawyers, but have asked a judge to issue a protective order preventing any of the discovery from being disclosed to the public.
On Wednesday, Bledsoe renewed the call for a protective order after The Baltimore Sun published articles based on Gray's autopsy — a key piece of evidence in the case.
The autopsy showed that Gray suffered a fatal "high-energy injury" while riding in a police van after being arrested on April 12. He died in the hospital a week later.
The driver of the van, Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr., is charged with second-degree murder, and three other officers face manslaughter charges. In all, six officers have been indicted in the case. All have pleaded not guilty, and a trial is scheduled for October.
Circuit Judge Barry Williams, who is presiding over the case, on Wednesday declined prosecutors' request for an expedited hearing on the protective order, ruling that State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby's office had failed to follow court rules in asking for the hearing.
In a footnote, Williams asked the parties to refrain from filing further letters in the court file and instead communicate with him through formal pleadings on matters that require a ruling.
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