Officer says Gray gave him no reason to call for a medic

Officer William Porter was poised and calm as he testified in his own defense Wednesday, telling jurors that he didn’t call an ambulance for Freddie Gray because Gray was alert, appeared uninjured and didn’t complain of any pain or wounds in the back of a police van.

He also denied the prosecution’s claim that Mr Gray told him he could not breath during the fourth of six stops.

In testimony, Porter admitted to not belting Gray in.

“Dirty”, of course, means being in possession of illegal narcotics, and there, in the opening flourish of the defendant’s highly anticipated testimony, the jury got a dose of Porter’s cop-talk – a combination of street vernacular and the paramilitary jargon of the Baltimore Police Department that colored the officer’s descriptions of events of Sunday, April 12. Porter, the first of six officers to go on trial, said he only realized Gray was hurt when the van reached the police station.

When apparently pressed by Schatzow about why Porter didn’t provide more detailed information when first interviewed, Porter replied that he did give the names of every officer there, but that he wasn’t sure of each officer’s specific actions at every moment and did not want to provide misinformation. Porter said that during the fourth stop, he went inside the back of the van and helped Gray, who was handcuffed and shackled, from the floor onto the bench. Porter said he advised Ross to speak with Lt. Brian Rice over concerns about Gray’s arrest.

Porter, who is also black, told jurors that when Gray was arrested, he overheard him screaming and mentioning something about needing an inhaler.

According to his testimony, Porter was familiar with the neighborhood, and his primary concern in that initial encounter and in the van’s second stop about a block away, was crowd control.

Gray died a week later.

Porter said he saw the police wagon shaking side-to-side and heard kicking during the second stop.

The defense has said Porter did not believe Gray was seriously injured until the final stop.

Porter told the jury that the wagon is “pretty tight” and said that of his 200 arrests involving the transport van, he has never belted in a prisoner. They have also said Porter acted the way any reasonable officer would have and suggested that the officer may have thought Gray was faking an injury to avoid going to jail.

Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said it was clear outside eyes will be on Baltimore when the verdict is in, saying Baltimore’s is the most recognized police uniform in the country right now. He said Gray couldn’t tell him exactly what was wrong with him. “I’m offended you asked that”.

Porter, 26, faces charges of manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct.

Schatzow: “You said engrained in you as a police officer was to protect life …”

Officers arrested Gray after a foot chase. The press conference is clearly aimed at stemming a repeat of late April’s unrest that followed Gray’s death.

Under cross-examination, Di Maio agreed that Gray’s death could have been prevented had he been secured with a seat belt.

“If he had gotten prompt medical attention, it would not have been a homicide”, she stated, adding that Gray probably would have survived if van driver Caesar Goodson had rushed him straight to a hospital when he told Porter “I can’t breathe”.

The state rested its case Tuesday after calling 16 witnesses over five days.