BALTIMORE, April 30 (UPI) — The Baltimore police transport that carried Freddie Gray to a police station following his arrest made a previously undisclosed stop en route, authorities said Thursday.
Investigators said Thursday evening that new video evidence has surfaced that shows the additional stop. Police previously said the van made three stops on its way to the station. This new revelation makes it four.
However, no other details about the previously unknown stop have been revealed. Media reports cited investigators as saying the new stop was found with the help of surveillance video provided by a business along the route.
“Obviously, it raises all kinds of questions,” former Justice official Bill Yeomans said. “Somebody in the police department knew about this stop, and what it suggests is that whoever was driving the van, whoever was involved in the van trip was not forthcoming.”
The newly discovered stop was the second, chronologically, in a series of four stops made by the van en route to the precinct. Police are supposed to log all stops they make, but that was not done in this case, CNN reported.
The first stop was reportedly to place Gray in leg irons. The third was to “deal with” Gray, reports said, although not much is known what that entails. The fourth stop was to pick up a another unrelated arrestee.
At some point during the April 12 transport, Gray asked police for medical attention. Upon arrival at the station, he was evaluated by medics and subsequently hospitalized with a fractured spine. Officials believe the injury was sustained inside the police van during the transport.
The new stop comes after it was also reported Thursday that Gray also sustained a serious head injury while inside the wagon. A week later, he died from complications due to the injuries.
Multiple law enforcement sources told WJLA-TV in Baltimore Gray sustained a fatal head and neck injury when he slammed into the back of the inside of the van. The medical examiner’s office said a wound on Gray’s head matched a protruding bolt in the back of the van.
Police have also said Gray wasn’t buckled inside the prisoner van.
Peaceful protests continued Thursday in Baltimore and cities across the United States. The group marched throughout the city until the 10 p.m. curfew when most people cleared the streets.
“There is a sense of rage and rightly so,” Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts told USA TODAY. “The Constitution says you should have the right to protest in the street and walk to get your point across. So that’s what we facilitate.
“Although we have had two days of peace and quiet, we still have a weekend to make it through,”
Batts said he expects the department’s report on Gray’s death will be seen by the public at some point.
“There’s nothing for us to hide,” he said. “We have just been asked by the state’s attorney to allow her to speak to that because it’s her case now.”
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.