In Custody Death of Freddie Gray.

The Baltimore police van that carried a fatally injured young man made a previously undisclosed stop on its way to a police station, the Police Department revealed Thursday, as it announced the completion of its initial investigation into the death of Freddie Gray.

The new stop turned up on video taken from “a privately owned camera,” Deputy Commissioner Kevin Davis said, and it was “previously unknown to us.” That suggested that the officers involved had not told investigators about it.

-New York Times. 

Uh-oh.

The undersigned is not unfamiliar with in-custody unscheduled stops by the police. Many years ago as a prosecutor I took to trial (and lost) two police officers who I charged with aggravated battery on the following facts. 

The Hispanic defendant/victim was arrested for a drug offense, possession of cocaine, I think it was. This initial arrest was uneventful, the defendant joked with the arresting officers. He was taken to the police department holding cell pending transport to the county jail. Routine procedure. There he noticed inmate after inmate, waves of inmates being transported to the county facility ahead of him. He got aggravated and complained. An officer (not one of the initial arresting officers) in charge of the transportation, a little guy, also Hispanic, told him to shut up and passed him over again for transport, saying "Leave the faggot with the long hair here." "You call me a faggot, I'm not a faggot, you're a faggot." "Faggot." "You're the faggot." Back and forth, it was real mature. The defendant was tall and had long hair and theorized with me that the insulting officer had a Napoleon complex and didn't like him. The defendant was infuriated by Officer Napoleon's comments and by his treatment.

Finally, the defendant was called out of the holding cell for transport, Officer Napoleon walking behind him, per procedure. All of a sudden, the defendant turned around and punched Napoleon in the face. Broke Napoleon's nose. Hoo-doggie was Napoleon mad. The defendant missed another bus run.

After breaking Napoleon's nose the defendant was put in a one-man cell with a little window slide. A short time later the window slid open and another officer, also Hispanic,--Everyone in this case was Hispanic, just like Jeb Bush--a big muscle-bound officer said to the defendant with a malicious smile on his face, "I am going to be your transporting officer." Uh-oh.

The defendant was put in a paddy wagon by Officer Steroid and Officer Non-Descript, I do not remember much about him. They took his glasses before putting him in the van. Uh-oh. It was dark out. The defendant had been arrested before and knew the area, knew the city, knew the routes from the police station to the the county jail and, through squinted eyes, was able to see out the back window of the van that he was being taken to an Unscheduled Stop before the jail. Uh-oh.

It was an unlit, blind, back alley in a warehouse district. Not a soul around at that hour of night. Paddy wagon doors opened, "Step out cowboy," that from Officer Steroid. They put him at the end of the blind alley. He was still handcuffed. From 20'-30' away Steroid ran at him and delivered a flying karate kick to his chest. Ofcr. Non-Descript picked him up by his handcuffs just like Freddie Gray is being picked up there and the Flying Steroid reprised his performance. Then they both started beating him about his body, not his face. He felt particularly certain blows, they were sharper, not from a fist, some object. He couldn't see what it was. 

They took him to the jail after the Unscheduled Stop and this was the key to the case, the reason I lost it, he was checked in without complaining of being injured and displaying no outward signs of injury. He was scared to death and was not going to make another scene especially with Steroid and Non-Descript still there. He was put in a cell with a lot of other guys and after, from memory, an hour or two, he collapsed onto the floor from the pain. Other inmates alerted the jailers and he was taken out of the cell and given medical treatment. 

The defendant had broken ribs and I don't remember if any complications, e.g. punctured lung, ruptured spleen and he had these purple welts all over his chest, six or seven of them. They were
"patterned injuries," made by an object that can be identified. The welts had a purple rim around a
purple center. I looked at those photographs and I looked at those photographs. I talked to the
defendant and I looked at the photographs some more. Wtf? Not a baton or billy club, not one of those big flashlights, they're called Kel lights, the police carry but something like that. Like the imprint that a battery

would make but how could a standard "C" size battery be wielded with force sufficient to break ribs? I discounted battery-by-battery.

I went to a police supply store with the photographs. After I identified myself I showed the owner the photographs, he leaned on the glass counter top to look at them, and I began to explain the case in my voluble way and the owner turned briefly away and pulled out the battery pack for the Kel light. I didn't know Kel lights took fucking battery PACKS! I never heard of a fucking battery PACK. Six standard "C" batteries wrapped together by the manufacturer with plastic tape. We superimposed the positive end onto the photographs of the welts and of course they were a perfect match. Now I could tie the injuries to police equipment. Still lost the case (Tried the case with a friend of mine who shit his pants in the middle of the trial: aggravating trial.). The defense was that the inmates or somebody else at the jail beat the victim. Pissed me off.

Oh well. Beware the Unscheduled Stop in a police van. Definite Uh-oh.