The autopsy of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, whose death while in police custody incited massive riots in Baltimore, has showed that the young black man was killed due to a "high-energy injury" to his neck and spine, concluding that the fatal injury happened while Gray was being transported in the police van.
Though the state medical examiner's office concluded that the death of Freddie Gray fits the legal and medical definition of an accident, the incident will nonetheless still be ruled as a homicide, since the officers involved were not able to follow safety procedures "through acts of omission," according to Reuters.
The results of the autopsy inferred that despite Gray being loaded into the van on his stomach, he might have gotten to his feet and been thrown into the wall while the van abruptly changed direction. He was not belted in well, though his wrists and ankles were shackled. Such a scenario puts him "at risk for an unsupported fall during acceleration or deceleration of the van," reports The Baltimore Sun.
Assistant Medical Examiner Carol H. Allan, writing about why the conclusion of the autopsy still revealed the death of be a homicide, stated that it was "not an unforeseen event that a vulnerable individual was injured during operation of the vehicle, and that without prompt medical attention, the injury would prove fatal."
Neglecting to belt in a suspect while being held in a van is a violation of Baltimore police policy. The van made a number of stops after apprehending Gray, with the second stop occurring a few blocks away on Baker Street, where the officers placed an identification band and leg restraints on him, according to The Baltimore Sun.
Gray showed signs of an injury when the van stopped for the fourth time.
"The assisting officer opened the doors and observed Mr. Gray lying belly down on the floor with his head facing the cabin compartment, and reportedly he was asking for help, saying he couldn't breathe, couldn't get up, and needed a medic," the autopsy report stated, adding, "The officer assisted Mr. Gray to the bench and the van continued on its way."
By the time the van stopped for the fifth time to pick up a second arrestee, Gray was already unresponsive.
"Mr. Gray was found kneeling on the floor, facing the front of the van and slumped over to his right against the bench, and reportedly appeared lethargic with minimal responses to direct questions," the report stated.
The medical examiner stated that Gray's most significant injury was to the lower left part of the head, further stating that the fatal injury happened between the second and fourth stops made by the van driver.
