As the internal investigation continues into the death of Baltimore resident Freddie Gray, a document has leaked that claims a fellow prisoner in the van with Gray told police that the deceased man was “trying to injure himself.”
According to The Washington Post a prisoner who was also being transported in the police van on April 12 said he could hear Gray “banging against the walls” and said that he felt that Gray “was intentionally trying to injure himself.”
Until now there has been no speculation on how Gray could have entered the police van in perfectly functional condition only to be found unresponsive by the time the transport van arrived at the police station a half-hour later.
Gray was arrested on April 12 on a gun related charge but died seven days later after suffering a spinal cord injury in the van.
The unnamed prisoner could not see Gray, as a metal partition separated the two inside the vehicle.
Gray’s family attorney has disputed the document.
“We disagree with any implication that Freddie Gray severed his own spinal cord,” attorney Jason Downs said. “We question the accuracy of the police reports we’ve seen thus far, including the police report that says Mr. Gray was arrested without force or incident.”
The Baltimore police have refused to comment on the allegation.
Gray’s death over a week ago has thus far spurred eight days of protests and riots.
The Baltimore Sun dispelled rumors of any pre-existing spinal cord injury to Gray, saying that the court case Gray was involved in that had been cited in internet rumors concerned exposure to lead paint, not a car accident or subsequent spinal injury.
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