Freddy Gray death: Police arrested him after he fled, found knife, but still no word on broken neck
- 9 years ago
Relatives, activists and even Baltimore city officials have more questions than answers about what happened to Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old man who died one week after he was rushed to the hospital with spinal injuries following an encounter with four Baltimore police officers.
Gray, who died Sunday morning at the University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, was stopped by Baltimore Police Department officers on bike patrol April 12. Police have said Gray was running from the officers when he was arrested and placed in a transport van. Police say roughly 30 minutes later, Gray was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
Billy Murphy, an attorney for Gray's family, said Sunday that 80 percent of the man's spinal cord had been severed near his neck. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and top police officials promised accountability and transparency Sunday at a news conference at City Hall. "How was Mr. Gray injured? Were the proper protocols and procedures actually followed? What are the next steps to take from here?" "I will ensure we will hold the right people accountable," Rawlings-Blake said.
Gray's family has declined, so far, to interact with police, said Police Commissioner Anthony Batts. He said the department would try again this week to share information with them. "A mother has lost her son, Freddie Gray passed. My greatest hope and wish and desire is that any time we have an interaction as a police department or a contact, that everyone goes home safe,"Batts said. He is assembling a "hybrid task force" that will include homicide investigators and the force investigation team. Officers and other witnesses have been interviewed, according to Deputy Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez. However, not everyone has been interviewed, Rodriguez noted, saying the officers who are subjects of the criminal investigation have a right not to potentially incriminate themselves.
However Murphy said he has interviewed 11 witnesses as part of an investigation o
Gray, who died Sunday morning at the University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, was stopped by Baltimore Police Department officers on bike patrol April 12. Police have said Gray was running from the officers when he was arrested and placed in a transport van. Police say roughly 30 minutes later, Gray was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
Billy Murphy, an attorney for Gray's family, said Sunday that 80 percent of the man's spinal cord had been severed near his neck. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and top police officials promised accountability and transparency Sunday at a news conference at City Hall. "How was Mr. Gray injured? Were the proper protocols and procedures actually followed? What are the next steps to take from here?" "I will ensure we will hold the right people accountable," Rawlings-Blake said.
Gray's family has declined, so far, to interact with police, said Police Commissioner Anthony Batts. He said the department would try again this week to share information with them. "A mother has lost her son, Freddie Gray passed. My greatest hope and wish and desire is that any time we have an interaction as a police department or a contact, that everyone goes home safe,"Batts said. He is assembling a "hybrid task force" that will include homicide investigators and the force investigation team. Officers and other witnesses have been interviewed, according to Deputy Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez. However, not everyone has been interviewed, Rodriguez noted, saying the officers who are subjects of the criminal investigation have a right not to potentially incriminate themselves.
However Murphy said he has interviewed 11 witnesses as part of an investigation o