WaPo: Freddie Gray Suffered Head Injuries in Police Van

By    |   Friday, 01 May 2015 07:59 AM EDT ET

Investigators looking into the death of Freddie Gray believe the 25-year-old black man suffered head injuries while he was in a police transport van, but have not concluded how the head injuries occurred, The Washington Post reported.

A law enforcement official with information about the investigation told the newspaper that one wound was caused when Gray hit his head on a bolt that was sticking out in the van, but that there were other injuries as well, consistent with what is often seen from car crashes.

The findings were included in documents provided to prosecutors by the Baltimore police, but authorities refuse to provide full details on what they believe caused Gray's ultimately fatal injuries while in police custody, The Associated Press reported.

Police Commissioner Anthony Batts told a news conference that the department was swift in issuing the report, but refused to provide information about what the report contained.

"I understand the frustration. I understand the sense of urgency … and that is why we have finished it a day ahead of time," Batts said, according to the Post. "I also know that getting to the right answer is more important than the speed."

But there is growing anger among residents looking for answers in advance of large protests planned this weekend.

"The transparency is just not there," the Rev. Cortly "C.D." Witherspoon said after Batts refused to answer questions Thursday, the AP reported.

Meanwhile, rumors continue about how Gray's spine was "80 percent severed," as the family lawyer Bill Murphy described it, the AP said.

Police are also under heightened scrutiny after it emerged Thursday that the van carrying Gray had made a previously undisclosed additional stop before calling for help to check on his condition. A fourth stop was made to pick up an additional passenger before Gray arrived at the police station, The Baltimore Sun reported.

The information was based on private security footage but officials declined to comment further.

Police also acknowledged that officers did not follow procedure when they failed to buckle Gray in the van or to provide medical help when he asked for it, the Sun said.

Legal experts and Gray's family attorneys say that the details of the probe should continue to be confidential as the investigation continues.

"By releasing too many details, you run the risk that witnesses' testimony will change to mirror the details you have released," David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor, told the AP.

Meanwhile, the investigation continues to focus on how exactly Gray was injured and whether some of the injuries could have been caused by what is known in law enforcement circles as a "rough ride": a deliberate attempt by police to cause injury during the drive but without physical assault with weapons or hands, The New York Times reported.

For suspects handcuffed in the back of a speeding van, a sudden stop or sharp turns can severely injure, disable, or disfigure a suspect, the Times said.

"It's sort of a retaliatory gesture," Robert Klotz, a police-procedures expert and former deputy chief of police of the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, told the Times.

"It's one of those nebulous type of things where the individual feels they've been subjected to it because they've been mouthy. The officers say they have no intent in doing anything. It winds up in a he-said-she said situation."

While experts suggest that it is no longer a prevalent practice, at least two other Baltimore men, Jeffrey Alston and Dondi Johnson, were paralyzed after police van rides in two separate cases prompting lawsuits. Alston, who is paralyzed from the neck down, settled for $6 million in 2004, the Times said.

"I don't believe this is standard operating procedure," Hubert Williams, a former police director of Newark, New Jersey, and consultant with the nonprofit Independent Institute, told the Times. "What's been happening through the years is that the police have changed. Policing by and large through the years have become more community-oriented and more accountable to the public.

"But that does not dispose of these questions. I think the absence of accountability is the reason they occur."

© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


Headline
Investigators looking into the death of Freddie Gray believe the 25-year-old black man suffered head injuries while he was in a police transport van, but have not concluded how the head injuries occurred, The Washington Post reported.
freddie gray, police, baltimore, head injuries, van
685
2015-59-01
Friday, 01 May 2015 07:59 AM
Newsmax Media, Inc.

View on Newsmax