Autopsy of Freddie Gray shows 'high-energy' impact

Freddie Gray suffered a single "high-energy injury" — like those seen in shallow-water diving incidents — most likely caused when the police van in which he was riding suddenly decelerated, according to a copy of the autopsy report obtained by The Baltimore Sun.

The state medical examiner's office concluded that Gray's death could not be ruled an accident, and was instead a homicide, because officers failed to follow safety procedures "through acts of omission."

Though Gray was loaded into the van on his belly, the medical examiner surmised that he may have gotten to his feet and was thrown into the wall during an abrupt change in direction. He was not belted in, but his wrists and ankles were shackled, making him "at risk for an unsupported fall during acceleration or deceleration of the van."

Good points, and I agree. I recall that they've said Mr. Gray had tried various scams (remember the whole lead-poisoning lawsuit payoff thing).

But if it was an open secret that the cops played this "nickel ride" game with suspects - even if they only did it with the real bad actors - that's a problem. Baltimore PD management should have been on it a long time ago, although we all know how things work in real life... management individuals undoubtedly took people on "nickel rides" themselves when they were in the ranks.

In the 21st century, when there are video cameras all over the place and lots of outside scrutiny, the "unwritten rules" that used to be used to keep the bad guys in line now can't be kept in the shadows any more.

It used to be a well known fact among the bad guys that if you crossed certain lines with the cops, you were going to get put in a world of hurt. The cops knew it, the criminals knew it, the judges and prosecutors knew it, and the mayor's office knew it too.

That kind of system ("extra judicial punishment") started to go out in the '60s, and it's still being phased out today (although I suspect other sorts of EJP modalities have emerged to take the place of the old ones; this comes under the general concept of "you can't fight city hall").

He decided that standing up in a moving vehicle was a good idea? While he was shackled?

...

He was faking a neck injury before he was put in the van. Most likely he got up and tried to give himself a real neck injury so he could blame it on the cops.

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