Freddie Gray injuries would have paralyzed him ‘immediately,’ expert testifies
A neurosurgeon testified Thursday morning for the defense of Baltimore police Officer William G. Porter that Freddie Gray‘s injuries would have immediately caused him to lose the ability to breathe, contrasting the findings of a prosecution expert.
Dr. Matthew Ammerman said Gray suffered an injury in the back of a police transport van that would have “immediately rendered him paralyzed, stopped him from breathing and unfortunately ended his life.”
There has been testimony that Gray was asking for help during the van’s first four stops. The defense claims that he was not injured then, but rather out of energy after resisting arrest, and that he suffered his injury later.
Prosecutors have countered that a later injury would mean Porter had even more opportunities to help Gray by fastening his seat belt or calling for medical attention when he first asked.
Previously, a prosecution neurosurgeon expert testified that although Gray’s injury was severe, he would have been able to continue breathing by using secondary, “accessory” muscles and that he was trying to communicate his injury to Porter.
Following a dramatic day of testimony Wednesday, the trial resumed Thursday morning with Porter’s attorneys calling Ammerman, a Washington, D.C.-based neurosurgeon, to the stand.
Porter testified in his own defense Wednesday. His testimony was marked by contentious exchanges with a prosecutor and dramatic demonstrations in which one of Porter’s attorneys, Joseph Murtha, got on the ground and pretended to be Freddie Gray as Porter described Gray’s position in the back of the van following his arrest.
Porter, 26, is charged with manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment in connection with Gray’s death in April. Prosecutors say he “criminally neglected his duty” by failing to secure Gray with a seat belt in a police transport van on April 12 and not calling for medical assistance when Gray requested it.
Gray, 25, suffered a severe spinal injury while in the transport van and died a week later. Porter is one of six Baltimore Police officers charged in connection with his death. All of the officers have pleaded not guilty.
A small group of demonstrators gathered outside Baltimore Circuit Court on Thursday morning, with some holding banners that read “Jobs and Education, Not Police Terror” and “Black Lives Matter.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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