Assistant Medical Examiner Testifies About Gray’s Injuries

Officer William Porter’s defense team asked for a dismissal or mistrial over a document that talks about a prior back injury for Freddie Gray, but the judge denied the motion.

Officer Porter, 26, is on trial in Baltimore City Circuit Court on charges that include involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, and misconduct.

Following a day of testimony from medical experts about Gray’s injuries, Williams ruled outside of the presence of the jury that prosecutors had committed a discovery violation by not informing defense attorneys for Officer William Porter.

Allan testified Friday that Gray died of a neck injury, and that his death was ruled a homicide.

Assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Carol Allan testified, and prosecutors contend, that Gray was already gravely injured by the van’s fourth stop, when Porter opened the doors and lifted Gray from the floor onto the bench, leaving him unsecured by a seat belt.

Any movement after Gray’s initial injury likely would have made it worse, Soriano testified.

The defense is expected to call Officer Porter himself to the witness stand, along with character witnesses, before the trial wraps.

The defense has said Porter did not believe Gray, 25, was seriously injured until he was found shackled, handcuffed and unconscious at the end of the van ride at a police station. Gray later died of a spinal injury.

As his testimony drew to a close, Soriano asserted that although Gray’s injury was so severe that lasting consequences including possible paraplegia were nearly certain, his life might have been saved if he had been given immediate medical attention rather than spending nearly another half-hour in the police van.

Officer William Porter, the defendant, had asked Gray if he needed medical help, was told yes and informed the driver, Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr., to drive to the hospital. Agreeing with Murtha, Allan called her finding a “theory”. Herbert says that when she arrived, Gray wasn’t breathing and no one was giving him first aid.

While this may be the first full week, witness testimony officially unfolded last Thursday as Agent John Bilheimer took the stand to describe the training Officer Porter received in regard to transporting detainees.

She asked the officers what happened, and they speculated Gray might have been banging his head on the side of the van.

“It was always a huge picture when you attempted to detain Freddie Gray”, Porter told investigators during his videotaped interview.

Murtha suggested the homicide definition from the National Association Medical Examiners is a standard. The composition was changed Monday after a black woman juror told the Court that she could not continue to serve due to a medical emergency.

The substitution shifts the makeup of the jury to seven women and five men.

If found guilty of all charges, Porter faces more than 25 years in prison.