Attorneys for an officer charged with manslaughter in Freddie Gray’s death sought Monday to discredit a state official’s autopsy report, saying it was only a theory and not backed up by facts.
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Besides involuntary manslaughter, Porter faces charges of second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office.
The case hinges on whether Porter should have done more to help Gray, who asked him for a medic while being transported in a police van.
Allan said she would not have ruled the death as a homicide if Porter had called for medical assistance when he found Gray injured on the floor of the van, as reported by Reuters. His trial begins next month.
His defense attorneys asked for a mistrial Monday because prosecutors had not disclosed the document to them.
After re-taking the stand, Allan faced renewed questions as to how she had established her timeline for Gray’s injury, which she said happened between the second and fourth of five total stops the van made after Gray was loaded into it. According to Allan, it was Gray’s own words and actions, as reported by Porter and others, that had provided the evidence.
On re-direct by prosecutors, Allan said that if there had been an injury to Gray’s spine anywhere below his neck, she would have found evidence of it during her autopsy.
She added she would not have ruled Gray’s death a homicide if the driver of the police van – Officer Caesar Goodson – had taken Gray to the hospital, as Porter suggested. The defense maintains that Gray’s fatal injury came after he last spoke with Porter, at the fifth stop. His testimony in the case of Dondi Johnson, a Baltimore man who was arrested in 2005 for public urination, left paralyzed after riding in the back of a police van and died two weeks later, helped Johnson’s family win a $7.4 million settlement against the city.
“So if Goodson had followed the request of Porter and driven directly to the hospital, then you wouldn’t have considered this a homicide”, said Joseph Murtha, Porter’s attorney. Porter is the first of six officers charged in connection with Gray’s death to go on trial. Allan said she had discussed with police the possibility that Gray had a pre-existing injury, but concluded that she could find no such evidence.
Allan said that occurred during the van’s fourth stop, when Goodson summoned Porter to check on his passenger.
Murtha’s cross examination of Allan provided providing the most heated exchange so far in the week old trial.
Teel said Porter was cooperative, and that she did not consider him a suspect but rather a witness.
Judge Barry Williams told Murtha that he would cite him for contempt if he ignored warnings not to “testify” while questioning Allan.
The day also started with the announcement that one of the jurors – a black woman – had to be replaced because of a medical emergency.
Testimony continued Tuesday morning with a continuing focus on Gray’s injuries.
This is at least the second time Soriano has appeared as an expert witness against the Baltimore police.
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He also testified that Gray could not have deliberately banged his head with enough force to cause such a severe injury.
