Gray also suffered head injury, sources say

BALTIMORE – Baltimore police have found that Freddie Gray suffered a serious head injury inside a prisoner transport wagon, with one wound indicating that he struck a protruding bolt in the back of the vehicle, according to sources familiar with the probe.

New details of the investigation into Gray’s death emerged as police officially turned over the case to city prosecutors Thursday. Police said they have “exhausted every lead.”

In announcing an early conclusion to the first phase of their investigation, police also revealed a previously unknown stop by the transport van driver. Officials declined to comment further on what happened but said they had obtained private security footage depicting that event.

While witnesses have said that police officers roughly handled Gray, who died a week after his arrest from injuries including a severed spine, police have said a focus of their investigation has been what occurred in the van.

Police encountered Gray in a poor West Baltimore neighborhood on April 12 after he made brief eye contact with an officer. Gray ran from them and was chased down and handcuffed. It is unclear what probable cause they might have had to stop him, though he was later discovered to be carrying a knife strapped to his leg.

Police have acknowledged that officers violated protocol by not buckling in Gray and providing medical help when he asked for it.

The van made several stops before arriving at the Western District police station, where Gray was found unresponsive and taken to the hospital. At one stop, the van picked up another prisoner, who was taken to the station on the other side of a metal partition.

The prisoner originally told police that Gray was thrashing about and sounded like he was trying to hurt himself but later recanted that account, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

Gray’s death has unleashed a maelstrom of unrest, with protests in Baltimore and around the nation, putting pressure on city and police officials to explain what happened.

Police Commissioner Anthony Batts noted that the investigation’s first phase wrapped up a day before his self-imposed deadline of May 1, which he said demonstrated the agency’s sense of urgency around the case.

“I understand the frustration, I understand the sense of urgency, and so has the organization, and that is why we finished a day ahead of time,” Batts said. “I also know that getting to the right answer is more important than speed.”

Police did not make all of its investigative findings public.

State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby will ultimately determine whether to bring charges against any of the six officers involved in Gray’s arrest, and she has not set a timetable for that decision. The officers have been suspended with pay.

In a statement, Mosby confirmed that she had received the police investigative file but stressed that her investigation is independent. Gray’s family and their lawyers were seen leaving the state’s attorney’s office Thursday evening.

Gray died April 19, a week after being arrested in West Baltimore. He suffered a spinal cord injury and crushed voicebox and had lapsed into a coma. Maryland’s chief medical examiner said his office has not completed an autopsy

Investigative files include everything assembled by detectives – incident reports, crime lab reports, photos, witness interviews, the results of search warrants, and other items.

Video of the tail end of Gray’s arrest shows him groaning and his feet dragging underneath him. A witness said officers pulled back his legs and had him folded up like “origami.” Video taken by citizens of Gray’s arrest shows him yelling and dragging his feet as officers carry him to the van.

But as protests erupted, police said they were focused on what happened inside the van and did not believe the catastrophic spinal injury occurred during his arrest. Police said earlier this month that a preliminary autopsy showed no indication that force was used.

One new piece of information did emerge Thursday: Deputy Commissioner Kevin Davis said police determined that the police wagon transporting Gray made a previously unknown stop. Investigators scoured that area for surveillance footage and found a private camera showing the van stopped in that area after picking up Gray, he said.

“That’s new to us,” Davis said.

He did not elaborate on what that tape shows or if it was relevant to the investigation.

Large, generally peaceful demonstrations resumed in Baltimore early Thursday evening as the city entered the third night of a weeklong 10 p.m. curfew. Rioting, looting and fires erupted Monday night, and about 100 police officers have been injured this week.