Officer testifies in his own defense at Freddie Gray trial

It was a moment the riot-scarred city had waited for.

Defense attorneys have tried to suggest that the van driver – Officer Caesar Goodson – was responsible for Gray’s safety. When asked if Gray said he couldn’t breathe at the van’s fourth stop, Porter said, “absolutely not”. “Any loss of life, I’m sorry to see that”.

Some prisoners exhibit what Porter called “jail-itis”, feigning injury to avoid going straight to the lockup. In tense exchanges, prosecutors tried to pick apart his account, saying he had no regard for Gray’s life that April morning. He told jurors Porter was “just like every other officer”.

“He was unable to give me any reason for why he needed one”.

But “I can’t tell Officer Goodson what to do”, Porter said when asked why he didn’t do more to ensure that Gray went to the hospital immediately. People were really angry about the way police were treating Gray.

Gray’s death a week after the injury sparked outrage and demonstrations, some of which were plagued by arson, vandalism and looting, despite his family’s pleas for peace. Here are some of the questions he was asked and his remarks: – Why does Porter say he didn’t call an ambulance for Gray after checking on him during the police van’s journey?

Porter has pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment.

Several witnesses testified to the extent and nature of Gray’s injuries. He also said that at a stop where he helped Gray up, Gray was never heard to say he couldn’t breathe, and that he could not identify the officers who arrested Gray. “Medics don’t really want to transport our prisoners for us if we have a vehicle”, Porter told detectives.

Porter said Gray did ask to be taken to the hospital, but related that many arrestees suffer from what police call “jailitis”, feigned medical issues they hope will save them a trip to Central Booking. Charges against the other officers range from second-degree murder to misconduct. But Porter explained Wednesday that the investigator was mistaken, and he only heard Gray say that when he was arrested, not when he was in the van.

As for putting Gray in a seat belt, Porter suggested that it would have been risky. “There are too many questions around when Gray’s injury took place”, Brown said.

Novak said of the arrests he’s been involved in, 90 percent of had detainees who were not belted, though he always seat belts those he puts in transports he’s driving in a patrol auto.

The fourth stop is crucial in Porter’s case because prosecutors say Gray was already injured by the time he arrived there, and Porter’s failure to call a medic to the scene contributed the Gray’s death. Officer Alice Carson-Johnson, the state’s first witness, testified that Porter was a student in her training academy course, and that she taught all recruits to seek aid for any prisoner that requests medical care. Porter testified that Gray was not injured when he checked on him at that point.

“Is that culture in the Baltimore police department?”.

“‘I’m actually offended you would say something like that”, Porter said to Schatzow.

The prosection has rested its case Tuesday, so Wednesday it was the defense’s turn, starting with a forensic expert.

However, Porter later said things that conflicted with what Det.

The injury had essentially “cut off the head from the body” in a neurological sense, Di Maio testified.

“Yes, sir”, Di Maio said. Porter was present at five of them. If they believe Di Maio, they might infer that Porter could not have intervened in any meaningful way. Dr. Carol Allan, the assistant medical examiner who conducted Gray’s autopsy, took the witness stand and testified that Gray was injured by the time Porter met the transport wagon at the van’s fourth stop. Porter testified that Gray was making eye contact and talking in a normal voice, and that there was no way Gray was partially paralyzed when the officer helped the 25-year-old to the bench of the police van.

Earlier, Porter testified that he did not call for a medic before that final stop because Gray had not exhibited signs of a medical emergency.

Porter, became defensive as cross-examination continued.

Porter began his testimony by characterizing himself as an officer who had good relations with the community he policed, in and around Gilmor Homes in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood.