Freddie Gray 'killed after head slammed into bolt in back of police van'

A Baltimore police report on the death of a black man who suffered spinal injuries while in custody was handed over on Thursday to the city's chief prosecutor, who must decide whether to bring charges against six officers involved in the man's arrest.

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A mourner kisses Freddie Gray's casket before placing a rose on it at Gray's burial. (AAP)

While there are no immediate plans to make the findings of the police report public, media reports on Thursday offered new perspectives about what may have happened to Freddie Gray.

A Washington Post story, based on a police document, suggested Gray tried to hurt himself while riding in a police van.

A prisoner who rode in the van said he had heard sounds that suggested Gray was banging his own head against the wall, according to a document written by a police investigator and obtained by the newspaper. The other prisoner could not see Gray because they were separated by a metal divider.

Baltimore Police Department Captain Eric Kowalczyk on Thursday declined to comment on a Washington Post report, referring questions to the prosecutor's office, which was not immediately available.
Local television station WJLA said the medical examiner saw no evidence that Gray suffered the fatal injury during his arrest, pointing instead to the injury happening during his ride in the police van, multiple law enforcement sources told the ABC affiliate.

The medical examiner found that Gray appeared to break his neck when his head slammed into the back of the van, the sources told WJLA. He also suffered a head wound matching a bolt jutting from the vehicle's back door.

The WJLA report said it was still unclear what caused Gray to bang his head. He was not wearing restraints during the ride, a violation of department policies.

Police offered a fresh wrinkle to Gray's case on Thursday, saying officials learned of a fourth, previously undisclosed stop by the police van en route to the station house after viewing footage from a private camera. It was not immediately known what the footage revealed about Gray's injury.

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Source: Reuters

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