Internal Investigation Reveals Baltimore Police Called Freddie Gray's Requests for Medical Help "Jailitis"

Police were also reportedly shocked by the state's attorney's swift action.

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Details about Freddie Gray's ride in the back of a police car last month have emerged, including that Baltimore police made fun of his pleas for medical assistance. 

The details were part of the Baltimore Police Department's internal investigation into the circumstances surrounding Gray's death. The Baltimore Sun agreed not to share them until a decision was made on whether or not the officers involved in Gray's arrest would be charged for their actions. On Friday, State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby ruled Gray's death a homicide, and charges were filed against all six officers. 

According to the Sun, Gray's requests for help were dismissed as "jailitis":


Task force members continued to investigate all possibilities even though they felt confident that Gray had suffered a "catastrophic injury" while being taken from the arrest at Gilmor Homes to the Western District police station. They discovered that the van's video camera was broken and that one of the officers during the transport said Gray had "jailitis" — a faked illness — when he complained about his condition.


And they spent many hours retracing the actions of Officer Caesar R. Goodson, Jr., the wagon driver. Goodson, the investigators said, had heard Gray ask for medical help a number of times — a key factor in the charges Mosby would bring against him. Still, there were gaps along the route where no video or witness statements existed.


The investigators sought to understand why Goodson had made a stop that was discovered in a review of video camera footage. All they could determine was that Goodson looked into the back of the van, but did not touch Gray. But they wondered: Were there other stops?

The Sun adds that police were taken aback by Mosby's swift decision: 


They stood motionless as Mosby began speaking. A lieutenant wearing a suit and bow tie rested his left hand on a leather chair; Green stood in uniform against the wall, hands behind his back. As Mosby read off the charges — including second-degree depraved-heart murder, the most serious, against Goodson — stunned looks crossed their faces.


They had not expected the state's attorney's office to act so soon.

[via Baltimore Sun]

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