I only now saw the video of Freddy Gray getting arrested.

[hedgehog]

I saw a man on his front with his shoulders pulled back by an officer with a knee in his back. Then I saw a man dragged to the police van whom I think was screaming in pain and who apparently had no feeling in his legs. I think he was hurt before he was ever properly handcuffed.

[HipChick]

1. Hurt? He was murdered

by the police, seems like SOP

[peacebird]

2. That was my take too

[WillyT]

3. That's What It Looked Like Here... But...

Freddie Gray not the first to come out of Baltimore police van with serious injuries
Baltimore Sun
4/27/15

But Gray is not the first person to come out of a Baltimore police wagon with serious injuries.

Relatives of Dondi Johnson Sr., who was left a paraplegic after a 2005 police van ride, won a $7.4 million verdict against police officers. A year earlier, Jeffrey Alston was awarded $39 million by a jury after he became paralyzed from the neck down as the result of a van ride. Others have also received payouts after filing lawsuits.

Link: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-gray-rough-rides-20150423-story.html#page=1

[Bjorn Against]

4. What makes these police vans so dangerous?

This is one part of the story that has really puzzled me, it sounds like they are blaming the spinal injury on him not being strapped into the police van but that explanation has not made sense to me.

Seat belts certainly have saved many lives when there have been accidents, but there was no accident in this situation. Lots of people ride in vehicles without being strapped in and I have never heard of anyone suffering a spinal injury in a vehicle which was not involved in a collision.

You have cited a couple of cases in which this has happened in Baltimore police vans however. Why is it that police vans in Baltimore have this problem yet people seem to be able to ride in the back of any other van without facing serious injury?

I had assumed that the story that he was not strapped in was the cover story because they did not want to admit to beating him, but now that I see you have cited a couple of other cases of spinal injuries in Baltimore police vans I am puzzled.

[hollysmom]

5. from the news I have gathered that they just retooled a lot of the police vans

with cameras and have a rule requiring seat belts for prisoners because Baltimore have a reputation for arresting someone and they taking them for a crazy ride with sharp corners and bumpy roads before bringing them to the police station, apparently it is bumper people in police vans for the police's amusement.

tax payer pay outs are getting away cheap when these police get to keep their jobs, they know they are abusing people but the government does not have the courage to take them down and the blue line holds steady.

[Bjorn Against]

7. Thanks for the explanation

It sounds like they may have been intentionally putting people in danger. It sounds like a full investigation is needed, not just of thus case but of all cases in which officers took prisoners on these wild rides. Any officer who participated at any time needs to be fired and criminally charged.

[WillyT]

6. Ever Heard Of A "Nickel Ride"??? - They Put You In The Van Without A Seatbelt, And Then...

Freddie Gray’s Death Reveals A Dark History Of “Nickel Rides” And Police Van Torture
By John Vibes - FreeThoughtProject
April 27, 2015

<snip>

Many suspect that Gray was the victim of a “Nickel Ride”, a horrific police torture tactic where a suspect is handcuffed and placed in the back of a police van without restraints, and driven recklessly around town by police officers. This practice has also been called a “Rough Ride” or a “Cowboy Ride.”

“We know he was not buckled in the transportation wagon, as he should have been. No excuses for that, period,” Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said Friday. “We know our police employees failed to get him medical attention in a timely manner multiple times.”

According to NBC News,

Davis said the police van stopped three times before arriving at the station. It stopped first so police could place “leg irons” on Gray, and stopped a second time “to deal with Mr. Gray, and the facts of that interaction are under investigation,” Davis said.

The van stopped a third time to pick up a second prisoner and went on to the Western District police station, where an ambulance was called, Davis said. “At no point was he wearing a seat belt,” while in the police van, Davis said. Police policy requires all prisoners to wear seat belts during transport.

A second video surfaced that showed the second stop and without a doubt that Gray was not belted in and in fact placed in leg irons...

<snip>

More: http://thefreethoughtproject.com/freddie-grays-death-reveals-dark-history-nickel-rides-police-van-torture/

[Bjorn Against]

8. Thanks, I had not heard of that but it needs to be treated as a crime

It sounds like the real problem was not that he wasn't strapped in, the real problem was that the police may have intentionally took him on a wild ride.

It sounds like a full investigation is needed into this practice and any officer involved needs to be fired and prosecuted.

[WillyT]

9. One Wonders When The Local Taxpayers Will Get Tired Of Footing The Bill For Those Lawsuits...

[hedgehog]

11. OTOH - I was in a neck collar for six hours after a car accident

just in case I had a spinal injury. Whether the injuries came before and/or during transport, there;s something rotten in Baltimore!

[WillyT]

10. Uh Oh... Now They're Are Messing With TPTB

Baltimore police officers stand guard outside of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Monday, in Baltimore. The baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox has been postponed. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

From: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/27/freddie-gray-protest-mall_n_7154708.html#60_orioles-game-postponed-amid-unrest

It's not a strike, but it is disrupting commerce.