Did Freddie Gray's own actions lead to or contribute to his own death?
I don't know. And quite honestly, it sounds farfetched to me. But the only other prisoner in the police van has just given testimony that might support that claim.
According to The Washington Post:
BALTIMORE — A prisoner sharing a police transport van with Freddie Gray told investigators that he could hear Gray “banging against the walls” of the vehicle and believed that he “was intentionally trying to injure himself,” according to a police document obtained by The Washington Post.
The prisoner, who is currently in jail, was separated from Gray by a metal partition and could not see him. His statement is contained in an application for a search warrant, which is sealed by the court. The Post was given the document under the condition that the prisoner not be named because the person who provided it feared for the inmate’s safety...
Jason Downs, one of the attorneys for the Gray family, said the family had not been told of the prisoner’s comments to investigators.
“We disagree with any implication that Freddie Gray severed his own spinal cord,” Downs said. “We question the accuracy of the police reports we’ve seen thus far, including the police report that says Mr. Gray was arrested without force or incident.”
Now, of course a plausible alternative explanation is that Gray was already injured (perhaps fatally) and in pain, and through frustration, anger, pain and/or some sort of mental condition cause by the injury was banging against the walls for whatever reason. This was misinterpreted by his fellow prisoner as constituting an intentional desire on Freddie Gray's part to harm himself. For the cynical, it's also I suppose possible that someone (a dirty cop) put the other prisoner up to this.
But the point is we don't know. And certainly the fact that a fellow prisoner would give such testimony is important and interesting.
It goes without saying that the rioters, protesters, members of the "Civil Rights" establishment and other allied parties don't give a damn about what actually happened.
And we could say the same thing about Ferguson.
As to his death, Freddie Gray didn't "deserve it" (not that I've heard anyone suggest that). On the other hand that doesn't mean that the police murdered him or caused his death through negligence.
Freddie Gray was a serial criminal, who had been arrested eighteen times and had spent a number of years in jail. It doesn't appear that he was a particularly dangerous or violent criminal (relative to some of his criminal peers). His girlfriend described him as "happy-go-lucky with an infectious sense of humor." His mother was a heroin addict, and when he was out of prison he lived off the proceeds from "lead checks"--settlement money given to him and others in his neighborhood from lawsuits regarding toxic paint. He may have been borderline retarded and/or functionally illiterate.
Perhaps he is now with God. If not but if he is on the way to Him, say a prayer that he gets there quickly.
Perhaps he is now with God. If not but if he is on the way to Him, say a prayer that he gets there quickly.
