The death on April 19 of Gray, a 25-year-old black man arrested after he ran from police in his neighborhood, set off protests and a riot in the city, and became a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement.
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Asked by Murtha whether Gray’s apparent difficulty breathing could have merely been breathlessness as a result of having fled from police, Soriano curtly replied, “That’s a bit of a stretch, counselor”.
Freddie Gray likely would have survived the neck injury he received in the back of a police transport van had he gotten prompt medical treatment, two expert witnesses testified on Monday.
“He intentionally didn’t call a medic and he intentionally didn’t buckle him in a seat belt”, Schatzow said.
Defense lawyers have argued that Porter had no responsibility to strap Gray in and that Gray was known for faking illness in previous brushes with the law. After prosecutors said they had just obtained the document Monday, Circuit Judge Barry Williams denied the mistrial motion, but ruled the defense could use the evidence in the trial.
Medical assistance was not called until the van reached a police station.
The trial of Officer William Porter will continue, after new evidence was brought to late Monday that briefly threw the trial into question.
She added that Gray was on his knees, with Porter and another officer holding his head up.
Porter, 26, faces manslaughter and other charges. He faces manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office charges. Murtha said. Allan responded, “that’s correct”.
Maryland prosecutors on Tuesday rested their case against a Baltimore police officer charged in the April death of a black man, Freddie Gray, from an spinal injury in police custody.
Herbert said she couldn’t immediately discern what was wrong with Gray and gave him medication to start his heart and to counteract a possible drug overdose.
The prosecution presented Allan as an expert witness over the objection of the defense.
Asked about whether she knew about Gray’s recent surgery (over prosecutors’ objections), Allan said she did not, but considered the possibility. When Porter checked on Gray, during the van’s fourth stop, the man was in the same position: face-down, with his feet pointing toward the van doors and his head toward the front of the wagon.
Murtha’s aggressive style drew a warning Monday from the judge, who threatened to hold him in contempt if he didn’t stop “testifying”, by posing questions about information not in evidence, during his cross-examination of the assistant medical examiner.
Defense attorneys say they learned of the statement over the weekend.
Jurors heard from 16 state’s witnesses over five days and watched Porter’s videotaped interview with Baltimore detectives as the prosecutors centered on what he did and didn’t do for Gray, who repeatedly asked for medical attention. He was placed shackled and handcuffed in the van without being secured by a seat belt. Allan said her autopsy concluded that the cause of Gray’s death was neck injury, and the manner of death was homicide. Prosecutors say the officer failed to buckle Gray into a seatbelt and did not call for a medic when Gray indicated he needed aid.
An assistant state medical examiner says she would not have ruled Freddie Gray’s death a homicide if a police van driver had taken Gray to the hospital, as Officer William Porter suggested.
Instead, Goodson picked up a prisoner at North and Pennsylvania avenues, and then drove to the Western District police station.
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Allan testified Friday that Gray died of a neck injury, and that his death was ruled a homicide.
