A Baltimore judge ruled on Wednesday that the six officers charged in connection to the death of Freddie Gray will be tried separately.

Gray, a 25-year-old black man, died of a severe and critical neck injury on April 19, exactly seven days after he was apprehended by cops in Baltimore. According to officials, Gray was arrested for carrying a legal switchblade knife on the morning of Sunday, April 12, and placed inside of a police van. However, he sustained sufficient neck injuries while riding in the van, and died a week later.

Following his death, the six officers involved with arresting and transporting Gray -- Edward Nero, Garrett Miller, William Porter and Caesar Goodson, and Lt. Brian Rice and Sgt. Alicia White -- were arrested on reckless endangerment charges, reports NBC News. Rice, Porter, and White are additionally facing manslaughter, while Goodson has also been charged with second-degree murder.

On Wednesday, Judge Barry G. Williams ruled in favor of the defense by giving the cops separate trials. However, the judge also denied two defense motions; one to dismiss charges against the six police officers due to alleged prosecutorial misconduct and another requesting for prosecutor Marilyn Mosby to recuse herself, reports CNN.

The hearings were held as dozens of protesters demonstrated in front of the Baltimore City Circuit Courthouse East, reports USA Today. Some of the activists held up signs that said "Stop racism now." Others chanted: "Indict, convict, send those killer cops to jail. The whole damn system is guilty as hell" and "Tell the truth and stop the lies, Freddie Gray didn't have to die."

The police department announced that one person was arrested.

"Most protesters are cooperating and not blocking roadways," the department said in a statement on Twitter.

All six officers in the case have pleaded not guilty. The trials are set to start in October.