Actually, this incident Is the first time I heard of a ‘paddy wagon’ having seatbelts. None of them I have been in ever had any. IIRC, the seat belts are a ‘new’ feature and available only on the latest vehicles(paddy wagons). That is to say, not all the paddy wagons in Baltimore have seat belts. The same is probably true of most cities in the US. Sure, you really know paddy wagon vans that well and have been in many of them, but never heard of the "nickel ride"?
The back seat of a car is not like the slick, metal, box of a van which is practically a guaranteed injury box, especially when you hands are cuffed behind you.
“It is police policy that all arrestees must be buckled in during transport. The policy, updated just nine days before Freddie Gray was injured, states “all passengers, regardless of age and location, shall be restrained by seat belts or other authorized restraining devices.””
Sure, you really know paddy wagon vans that well and have been in many of them, but never heard of the "nickel ride"?Heard of it, but never had it happen to me.
The back seat of a car is not like the slick, metal, box of a van which is practically a guaranteed injury box, especially when you hands are cuffed behind you.
So, you are saying that for the past 100 years, ever arrestee that rode in a paddy wagon was injured during the ride ?