Baltimore officer warned Freddie Gray needed medical help: reports
By
Alex Dobuzinskis
A Baltimore police officer charged with manslaughter over the death of black
man Freddie Gray told another officer the man in their custody appeared to
need medical assistance but none was provided at the time, the Baltimore Sun
reported on Saturday.
Six Baltimore police officers were charged in connection with the death of
Gray in April from a spinal injury, which sparked protests and rioting in
the city and fueled a debate on police treatment of minorities in the United
States.
Gray, 25, was arrested for carrying a knife and was bundled into a transport
van while in handcuffs and shackles and not secured with a seatbelt,
officials said.
Prosecutors have said Officer William Porter, who is black and was charged
with manslaughter, assault and reckless endangerment in May, was called by
Officer Caesar Goodson Jr, the van's driver, to check on Gray's status.
Porter told investigators he informed Goodson, who is also black, the jail
booking facility would not process Gray because he was in medical distress,
according to an article posted on the Baltimore Sun's website that cited
police findings.
The newspaper said it obtained Porter's account from an initial police
review of Gray's fatal injury.
Porter also told investigators he wondered whether Gray truly needed medical
assistance, even though he requested it, or was faking injury because he
wanted to go to a hospital instead of jail, the newspaper reported.
Prosecutors have said that, when Goodson and Porter were discussing taking
Gray for medical care, a call came in requesting police support and Goodson
drove off with Gray still unsecured in the vehicle.
When Goodson later arrived at a police station, Gray had stopped breathing
and was taken to a hospital where he died a week later, prosecutors said.
Some of the officers' accounts initially given to investigators differ from
each other, which helps explain why separate trials were ordered for them.
That includes Porter, who is expected to testify against Goodson and
Sergeant Alicia White, The Sun said.
Goodson is charged with second-degree murder and White faces the lesser
charge of manslaughter.
In a statement to the newspaper from lawyers for all six officers, defense
attorney Joseph Murtha characterized police disclosure of their clients'
statements as "unfair and unconstitutional." |