A Baltimore Police Department internal investigation shows that at least one officer suggested that Freddie Gray needed “medical care but wondered, along with others, whether he was faking injuries or being uncooperative”, according to the Baltimore Sunday.
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Porter’s comments are significant because they potentially shed light both on Gray’s medical condition, as well as what the officers knew during the arrest.
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.
Prosecutors and the defense attorneys for the six officers accused in the April death of Freddie Gray are due in Baltimore City Circuit Court next week.
Porter is the first cop to offer this sequence of events after Gray’s arrest, and his story contradicts statements from the other officers, the Sun reported. “Help me”, Gray reportedly told him. Goodson also faces a charge of “depraved-heart” murder. “At that point, Porter allegedly told the van’s driver that the city would refuse to book Gray because he needed medical care, according to documents that the Baltimore Sun examined that summarize the officers” statements. “Everybody plays the “I need to go to hospital’ thing when they get arrested”, Porter said”. By the time the van stopped at a police station, Gray was in cardiac arrest. Another officer said Porter told her Gray’s medical problem was “jail-itis”.
Last week, Chief Deputy State’s Attorney Michael Schatzow asked Judge Williams to schedule Officer William Porter’s trial first because he is “a necessary and material witness in the cases against” Officer Caesar Goodson and Sgt.
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In a statement to the newspaper from lawyers for all six officers, defence attorney Joseph Murtha characterized police disclosure of their clients’ statements as “unfair and unconstitutional”.
