Re: Prisoner in van said Freddie Gray was ‘trying to injure himself,’ document [W:384
Prisoner in van said Freddie Gray was ‘trying to injure himself,’ document says
BALTIMORE — A prisoner sharing a police transport van with Freddie Gray told investigators that he could hear Gray “banging against the walls” of the vehicle and believed that he “was intentionally trying to injure himself,” according to a police document obtained by The Washington Post.
[...]
Prisoner in van said Freddie Gray was
Maybe folks were to quick to blame police.
Upon reading the linked article, I suspected there might have been a third "ear witness" to what might have occurred during Freddie Gray's transport to the Baltimore police prescient. This updated article from
theconservativetreehouse.com for the first time brings this third ear-witness more into light. However, this
article from NYMag.com along with this
article from theDailyKos.com states firmly that there was a
third detainee in the first compartment of the police van whom Donta Allen, detainee #2 in the adjoining rear-left hand compartnet, wasn't aware.
A controversial police document leaked to the Post on Wednesday said an unnamed second passenger in the van told police he heard Gray "banging against the walls" and believed he "was intentionally trying to injure himself." The other prisoner, 22-year-old Donta Allen, came forward on Thursday and confirmed that he heard banging when he got in the van. "When I got in the van, I didn't hear nothing. It was a smooth ride. We went straight to the police station. All I heard was a little banging for about four seconds. I just heard little banging, just little banging," Allen told WBAL. "I told homicide that. I don't work for the police. I did not tell the police nothing."
Report: Freddie Gray Broke His Neck Inside Van -- NYMag
If what theconservativetreehouse.com (formerly Brietbart.com) and NYMag.com reports are true, then the only time this unknown ear witness would have heard Freddie Gray "banging against the wall" would have been the 4 minutes between the time he was placed inside the police van (8:42 am) and the time the van made it's first stop (8:46 am)when Freddie Gray was being irate. And since Freddie Gray was placed on the floor after being shackled, it's reasonable to assume the banging he allegedly heard ceased (at least temporarily) from 8:46 - 8:59 am. It wasn't until the 4th stop at 8:59 am that Freddie Gray was placed back on the bench seat of the van when Officer Porter assisted him up. But by then per the
timeline of events, Freddie Gray had already sustain his neck injury at 8:54 am. It could be argued that Freddie Gray was still being "combative or irate" at the 4th (and/or 5th stop which does not have a time stamp), but it bears noting that at no other time subsequent to this first stop do the police or any other detainee report that Freddie Gray continued in his former irate state.
According to Donta Allen, the only other identified "ear-witness" to this case, he states firmly that:
"When I got in the van, I didn't hear nothing. It was a smooth ride. We went straight to the police station. All I heard was a little banging for about four seconds. I just heard little banging, just little banging."
So, assuming that there was a third unknown, unidentified ear witness in police van compartment #1 and that events hold true per the timeline as report, this witness would have had only a few minutes to discern what he heard coming from compartment #2. Furthermore, it's likely this would have been the only time any discernible sounds of loud banging would have come from compartment #2 since Freddie Gray was shackled and on the floor for up to 7 minutes prior to sustaining his neck injury and 15 minutes before Officer Porter placed him back up on the bench seat.
(Continued...post #517)