04-22-2015, 11:47 AM
(04-22-2015, 06:42 AM)Duchess Wrote: Now, release the goddamn autopsy report.
The family and their lawyer say that Gray's spine was 80% severed and his voice box was crushed. I'm very interested to see the results of the autopsy report.
I don't see how the ME could rule Gray's death as anything other than a "homicide" (which only means death at the hands of another; it doesn't imply intent or malice or wrong-doing). The video footage available shows that Gray was fine when first arrested and that he was then cuffed. It's a huge stretch to believe that Gray inflicted those injuries upon himself while restrained in custody, but it'll be interesting to hear the officers' account of what went down in that van.
Here's the latest from this morning:
![[Image: baltimore-freddie-gray_wide-742c791ac99c...00-c85.jpg]](http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/04/22/baltimore-freddie-gray_wide-742c791ac99c83caa3c5ecbf00d3a5cc73b18519-s800-c85.jpg)
'Whatever happened happened in the back of the van,' Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said at a Monday press conference when she pledged a thorough investigation of the incident.
The vehicle made multiple stops before paramedics were called, including the one in the recent video where police placed Gray in leg restraints because they say he had become 'irate'.
The small amount of footage shows Gray removed from the van and bent over on his hands and knees during the stop, not visibly agitated as officers stand around him.
A police timeline says that the stop occurred shortly after Gray was dragged into the van, 38 minutes before officers paramedics come to the police station where he was taken.
"We've had some other problems with African-Americans dying in police custody and at the hands of police officers here in Baltimore city," says Leonard Hamm, a former commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department who served from 2004-2007.
Talking with NPR's David Greene, Hamm cites a "disconnect" between the police and the community. And he said that the city has to work to close that gap.
Justice Department officials said Tuesday it has opened a civil rights investigation into the death of 25-year-old Gray, which has sparked protests against police treatment of black people after it was revealed he was arrested for running away from officers.
Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said that Gray asked for an inhaler, and then several times asked for medical care.
Refs:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015...-gray-case
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...z3Y3KhYeQx