BALTIMORE (AP) - One of six officers charged in the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray testified Monday that Gray twice said yes when asked if he needed to go to the hospital, information he relayed to the driver of the police van in which the black man's neck was broken on the way to the police station.
But Officer William Porter suggested that he and his colleagues have learned to be skeptical about such requests for medical help, since many detainees try to avoid jail by feigning injuries.
"He said the magic words," Porter said. "If they go down to bookings and say they want to go to the hospital, they'll reject them." Porter is a key witness in the trial of Officer Caesar Goodson, who is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and other charges.
Detective's Testimony
Meanwhile, the state's last witness of the day was a police detective involved in the investigation into Gray’s death.
Detective Michael Boyd was the state's 14th witness to take the stand in the trial for Officer Goodson, who faces second-degree murder, manslaughter and other charges stemming from Freddie Gray's death. Gray died April 19, a week after his neck was broken in the back of Goodson's wagon.
Prosecutors entered into evidence several closed-circuit television videos showing the wagon's roughly 45-minute ride from the site of Gray's arrest to the Western District station house, where he arrived unconscious.
Prosecutors also turned over a packet of information to the defense after a judge last week admonished the state for withholding exculpatory information from Goodson's attorneys. The defense will review the information and determine whether to file more motions.
Testimony will continue Tuesday.
