04-30-2015, 09:23 AM
A prisoner who rode in a police van with Freddie Gray told investigators that Freddie was trying to hurt himself, according to an affidavit obtained by the Washington Post.
The unidentified prisoner was loaded into the paddy wagon after Gray on April 12, and he told investigators that he heard Gray 'banging against the walls' and that he figured the man was 'intentionally trying to injure himself'.
However, the prisoner, who remains jailed for violating a restraining order, made it clear that he could not see what Gray was doing, since they were separated by a metal partition.
I think I posted upthread that it would be very hard to convince people that Gray's injuries were self-inflicted. Even if Gray really was trying to hurt himself, I think a lot of people will have a hard time believing it if that's what Baltimore officials announce tomorrow. The full autopsy report is going to be key here.
Was it even physically possible for Gray to sever his own spine and crush his own voice box? Did Freddie Gray have any history of mental illness or trying to avoid jail by claiming injury, or did he have a history of seizures? Could those fatal injuries have been avoided if only the police had followed policy and buckled him up in a seat belt? Should he have been arrested in the first place? Those are the questions that I expect protestors to be asking if authorities announce that the investigation indicates Gray was trying to self-harm in the back of the police van.
(Baltimore PD has already admitted that policy was breached when Gray was tossed in the van without a seat belt and that they erred when not providing Gray medical attention when he requested it early on.)
Post Piece: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crim...story.html
The unidentified prisoner was loaded into the paddy wagon after Gray on April 12, and he told investigators that he heard Gray 'banging against the walls' and that he figured the man was 'intentionally trying to injure himself'.
However, the prisoner, who remains jailed for violating a restraining order, made it clear that he could not see what Gray was doing, since they were separated by a metal partition.
I think I posted upthread that it would be very hard to convince people that Gray's injuries were self-inflicted. Even if Gray really was trying to hurt himself, I think a lot of people will have a hard time believing it if that's what Baltimore officials announce tomorrow. The full autopsy report is going to be key here.
Was it even physically possible for Gray to sever his own spine and crush his own voice box? Did Freddie Gray have any history of mental illness or trying to avoid jail by claiming injury, or did he have a history of seizures? Could those fatal injuries have been avoided if only the police had followed policy and buckled him up in a seat belt? Should he have been arrested in the first place? Those are the questions that I expect protestors to be asking if authorities announce that the investigation indicates Gray was trying to self-harm in the back of the police van.
(Baltimore PD has already admitted that policy was breached when Gray was tossed in the van without a seat belt and that they erred when not providing Gray medical attention when he requested it early on.)
Post Piece: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crim...story.html