Freddie Gray
While we all understood this to be the truth, the death of Gray in Baltimore
was ruled a homicide caused by a "high-energy impact."
Freddie Gray suffered a single "high-energy injury" to his neck and spine — 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, putting him "at risk for an unsupported fall during acceleration or deceleration of the van."
With his hands cuffed behind his back and his legs shackled, Gray did not stand a chance in the back of the Baltimore police van. Not only did the officers violate a series of policies and laws by loading him into the van this way, they ignored his well-being on multiple stops.
This type of deliberate assault on a person is not unknown to police—they are called "rough rides" and have maimed and killed people in Baltimore before.
An October 13 court date has been set for the six officers involved. They have all entered not-guilty pleas.