BALTIMORE —The videotaped statements of two of the Baltimore officers charged in the death of a young black man whose neck was broken in the back of a police transport wagon have been made public for the first time.
WBAL-TV used a Maryland Public Information Act request to obtain the April 17, 2015 statements from the office of Democratic State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby.
In their voluntary declarations to investigators, Sgt. Alicia White and Officer Garrett Miller recount the events that led to Freddie Gray’s death earlier that month, an event that prompted protests, as well as looting and rioting, across Baltimore. Gray’s name also became a rallying cry for the growing Black Lives Matter movement, and resulted in the ouster of then-Police Commissioner Anthony Batts.
Six officers were charged with Gray’s death. Miller and White were charged with assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office. White also faced a manslaughter charge. Their cases, as well as one for another officer, were dismissed after three other officers were acquitted.
The van driver, Caesar Goodson, is the only officer who did not make a voluntary statement. He faced the most serious charge of second-degree murder. All of the officers except for Goodson have filed civil lawsuits against Mosby for defamation.
The statements show that White, a supervisor who saw Gray during the final stops of the 45-minute van ride to the Western District station house, did not believe Gray was in need of medical care. Handcuffed with his legs shackled but unrestrained by a seat belt, Gray was unconscious when the van arrived at the station house. Miller was one of the arresting officers.
Prosecutors said Officer William Porter, whose first trial ended in a mistrial, told White, his superior, that Gray asked to go to the hospital at the wagon’s second-to-last stop. They argued that White erred when she directed the wagon back to the Western District instead of to a hospital.
