Rough ride? Lawyer says fatally injured arrestee lacked belt

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

BY JULIET LINDERMAN AND CURT ANDERSON

BALTIMORE (AP) -- No video captured what happened to Freddie Gray inside the police van where officers heaved him into a metal compartment after pinning him to a sidewalk. The cause of his fatal spine injury has not been revealed.

But a troubling detail emerged as hundreds of protesters converged on City Hall again Thursday: He was not only handcuffed and put in leg irons, but left without a seat belt during his trip to the station, a police union's lawyer said.

Unbelted detainees have been paralyzed and even killed by rough rides in what used to be called "paddy wagons." It even has a name: "nickel rides," referring to cheap amusement park thrills.

Police brutality against prisoners being transported was addressed just six months ago in a plan released by Baltimore officials to reduce this misconduct. Department rules updated nine days before Gray's arrest clearly state that all detainees shall be strapped in by seat belts or "other authorized restraining devices" for their own safety after arrest.

FULL story at link. Video: http://video.ap.org/?ndn.trackingGroup=90121&ndn.siteSection=ap_hom_non_non_dynamic_wire_ap&ndn.videoId=28930743&freewheel=90121&sitesection=ap_hom_non_non_dynamic_wire_ap&vid=28930743


The Rev. Westley West leads a march for Freddie Gray to the Baltimore Police Department's Western District police station, Wednesday, April 22, 2015, in Baltimore. Gray died from spinal injuries about a week after he was arrested and transported in a police van. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)


Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SUSPECT_DIES_BALTIMORE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-04-23-17-00-21

[Politicalboi]

1. I thought it may have been from sliding in the back

They're supposed to sit the passengers up on the seats, not on the floor. And seeing as how they couldn't get him to sit, they should have called an ambulance.

[democrank]

2. This is so disturbing.

Rest in peace, Freddie Gray.

[libdem4life]

3. He was thrown in face down and shackled. Everybody saw that and the smirky attorney for the cops

said he was just dragging his legs and screaming at being arrested. I wanted to smack Him in the face.

[imthevicar]

4. They took this poor

Guy on a Philadelphia Nickle ride.

[bvar22]

5. It is difficult to buckle your seat belt...

... with your hands cuffed behind you back.

[Comrade Grumpy]

6. One way or another, the cops killed him.

He was a healthy young man before his initial encounter with the police.

[awoke_in_2003]

7. The lack of seat belt didn't break his back...

the cops did that on the sidewalk, with their knees in his back. This is a bullshit excuse so they can claim "lack of training" and sweep it under the rug.