An attorney representing one of the officers involved with the arrest of a man who died of severe injuries a week after being taken into custody by Baltimore police claims his seatbelt was not fastened during the ride to the police station.
Freddie Gray, 25, was arrested by the Baltimore Police Department on April 12 after officers found a knife in his pocket. As he was being transported, he suffered injuries which left his spine 80 percent severed at the neck. Despite undergoing emergency surgery to save his life the following day, he died last Sunday. Baltimore police insist that he was arrested "without incident or force," but the Associated Press reports that lawyer Michael Davey said that Gray's seatbelt was not buckled, despite being handcuffed and having his legs in irons:
Policy is policy, practice is something else, particularly if a prisoner is combative, Davey told The Associated Press. It is not always possible or safe for officers to enter the rear of those transport vans that are very small, and this one was very small.
Assistant Police Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez said Gray was secured by leg irons after he became agitated during the trip, but the department hasn't said whether he was buckled in with a seat belt.
NBC News adds that Kevin Moore, Gray's friend who captured video of his arrest, said officer's bent Gray's legs "like he was a crab or a piece of origami." In addition to an internal investigation of the incident by the Baltimore Police Department and a separate one by the State's Attorney's office, the Justice Department will also probe the circumstances surrounding Gray's death.
[via Associated Press and NBC News]
