Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
"We argued they gave him what we call a 'rough ride,'" at high speed with hard cornering, said
Attorney Kerry D. Staton. "He was thrown from one seat into the opposite wall, and that's how he
broke his neck."
Staton obtained a $7.4 million judgment for the family, later reduced to the legal cap of $200,000.
It also has happened in Philadelphia, where police in 2001 barred transportation of prisoners
without padding or belts after The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the city had paid $2.3 million
to settle lawsuits over intentionally rough rides, which permanently paralyzed two people.
Gray fled on foot and was captured on April 12 after an officer "made eye contact" with him outside
a public housing complex, police said. Videos show Gray screaming on the ground before being
dragged, his legs limp, into a van. Witnesses said he was crying out in pain.
Kevin Moore, a friend of Freddie Gray's who recorded video of his arrest, told The Baltimore Sun
that police had Gray's legs bent "like he was a crab or a piece of origami."
Police procedures require officers to get immediate medical help if detainees need it, and to avoid
aggravating any injury.
In Gray's case, he repeatedly asked for help during the trip, but the driver instead diverted to
another location to pick up another prisoner.
For the first time, the fire department released a timeline for paramedics' response. Gray was
arrested at 8:42 a.m. Paramedics received a call for an unconscious male at 9:26 a.m., Baltimore
City Fire Department spokesman Captain Roman Clark said.
Medics arrived at the police station at 9:33 a.m., but didn't leave for the hospital until 9:54, arriving
roughly an hour and 20 minutes after his arrest. Clark didn't say why it took more than 20 minutes
to leave for the hospital once paramedics arrived.
"How did his injuries occur?" said Robert Stewart, a former chief who consults with police and the
Justice Department on use of force. "These guys are picking up someone who is obviously injured."
The driver also has a responsibility to refuse to take a seriously injured prisoner to the station if he
belongs in a hospital, Stewart said.
"If I'm the officer in the wagon, if the guy's hurt, I'm not taking him," he explained.
All six officers involved in Gray's arrest have been suspended with pay while under criminal
investigation. Davey, whose firm is on contract with the Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3,
said five of the six officers gave voluntary statements the day of Gray's arrest, and one he didn't say
who declined to speak with investigators.
It's quite common for prisoners to yell and complain, saying they've been injured or feel sick or that
their handcuffs are too tight.
"You have to make a judgment call: is this a tactic, something to distract me?" said Lt. Luis Fuste of
the Miami-Dade Police Department. "You're taught that these things are often done with an ulterior
motive."
Yet Fuste and other law enforcement experts say rough rides aren't typical, and aren't worth the
trouble to officers.
"Once he is a prisoner he is absolutely your responsibility," said Peter Moskos, a former Baltimore
officer who teaches law and police science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.
"Even if there was no malign intent, even if there was no assault, he's your prisoner. He goes into
the wagon alive, he can't come out dead."
The Department of Justice is investigating whether Gray's civil rights were violated, and an internal
police investigation will be delivered by May 1 to the state's attorney's office, which will consider
filing any criminal charges.
But some details have already been made public as authorities try to restore trust with a community
demanding transparency and justice.
Commissioner Anthony Batts said Monday that officers repeatedly ignored Gray's requests for
medical attention before he was hospitalized in critical condition. "He asked for an inhaler, and at
one or two of the stops it was noticed that he was having trouble breathing," Batts said. "We
probably should have asked for paramedics."
___
Associated Press Writers Dave Dishneau and Jeff Horwitz contributed to this story from Baltimore.
Anderson reported from Miami. They can be reached at http://twitter.com/Miamicurt,
http://twitter.com/ddishneau and http://twitter.com/JulietLinderman