Re: Baltimore on edge after arrestee's fatal spine injury
Slipping and falling while banging your head still is the result of your own actions.
How so?
When it happens while you are intentionally trying to harm yourself. Yes it is a result of your own actions.
Had you not been trying to harm yourself and remained seated, you would not have slipped and fell.
I could understand if Freddie Gray was walking around in the back of the van which is possible since he wasn't secured in his seat at any point during transit.
1. :doh
2. We have already been informed that the witness said he was thrashing about.
Do you have any idea of the confined space it is? Why Officers routinely do not secure their passengers?
The confines are too tight for a prisoner who are acting out.
Even if shackled, you do not want to expose yourself to anything they can do, such as spitting or biting.
Let's look at the evidence and see the errors of your claim.
There are none.
The errors are yours as has been shown and will continue to be shown.
So, Freddie Gray is restrained but not secured in the van. He's placed on his stomach, face down and head-first into the van in a confined space. How does he "bang his head against the wall" if he's laying face-down on his stomach on the floor? Rather difficult to do wouldn't you think?
:doh iLOL
This is you again making my argument.
It wouldn't have happened at that point.
That means it happened later.
You do realize why shackles are put on a person, right?
Because they are acting out.
At this point you could claim that Freddie Gray was banging his head against the wall of the van, but that would contradict Donte Allen's claim of "4-seconds of a little banging".
This is you ignoring that his contradictions and denials are not credible.
If you can't get past that point there is no further reason to continue.
So, how does his position change from being head-first in the van to ending up feet-first especially if it was a smooth ride from the point Donte Allen became detainee #2 to the time the van reaches the police station?
Do you or do you not realize that he was acting out?
And his acting out is consistent with what the witness already told investigators.
It's reasonable to conclude that there were only two occasions where Freddie Gray had the opportunity to bang his head against the wall:
1) when he was first put in the van.
2) when he was picked up off the floor by Officer Porter who helped Freddie Gray unto the bench.
No it is not.
That is an unreasonable conclusion.
The bolt was at the rear of the van.
He hit his head against the bolt breaking his neck and then fell crushing his voice box.
Had this happened in the beginning there would have been no reason to put shackles on him, as he wouldn't be acting out.
And we know from what the witness said to the investigators that he was still acting out while he was in the van.
The only way Freddie Gray's head and neck injuries could possibly be "self-inflicted" is if he stood up on his own after not having been secured to the bench and he somehow fell hitting his head on the bolt. There are only two possible explanations for him falling:
1) He tripped and fall off balance of his own accord; or,
2) He slipped and fell from a not so smooth/rough ride.
#2 is already dismissed as it was a smooth ride.
So why you bring it up is beyond me.
#1 could happen while he is acting out.
And you forgot #3; He purposely rammed his head while acting out.
But in either case, the Baltimore PD would still be found to be negligent since they had at least one opportunity to secure Freddie Gray to the bench seat without concern for officer safety since at least one cop was willing to help him unto the bench without requiring assistance from his fellow police officers. Officer Porter wasn't affraid to go in alone at this point. Therefore, it could be reasonable to conclude that he was no longer concerned for his safety. So, why not secure Gray to the bench seat at this point?
Another wrong assumption.
You do not need to reach across the prisoner to be able to help him take a seat, but you do to buckle them in.
The Officer safety reason still existed regardless if he was handcuffed and shackled.
If an Officer gets that close, as reaching across in such a confined space would necessitate, they can bite you, slam their head into you and even spit in your eyes.
A prisoner can still be irate and acting out even while shackled.
So don't bother trying this bs that their was no concern for Officer safety at that point. It simply isn't true.