The six Baltimore officers indicted for the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray are scheduled to go to trial in October, but their attorneys are making claims regarding the case beforehand. The defense attorneys say prosecutors directed investigators away from allegations that Gray had a history of injuring himself to collect insurance money.
Earlier this year, Gray was seen on camera being detained by Baltimore police as he screamed in agony, with his legs visibly contorted and back appearing to be in pain. He suffered a broken vertebrae and was taken to the hospital to undergo spinal surgery, but died one week later on April 19. His death sparked riots throughout the city.
Reports said Gray was injured while riding in the police van to jail. Police reported that Donta Allen, a man who was inside the van with Gray, said the victim was “banging himself, like he was banging his head against the metal … like he was trying to knock himself out or something,” according to Daily Mail. But later, Allen said police had exaggerated his comments and that Gray “did not hurt himself.”
But defense attorneys filed a motion Thursday in Baltimore Circuit Court claiming Gray had engaged in “crash-for-cash” to collect settlement money in the past when he critically injured himself at the Baltimore Detention Center so badly that he required medical attention. The lawyers said that when police investigators attempted to use this information as evidence Assistant State’s Attorney Janice Bledsoe advised them “not to do the defense attorneys’ jobs for them.”
The officers’ attorneys want to use the “crash-for-cash” allegation in their case. They additionally want Bledsoe, the lead prosecutor, and State Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s entire office removed from the case due to conflict of interest.
“The statement to investigators ‘not do the defense attorneys’ jobs for them’ would seem to indicate some level of knowledge that exculpatory evidence exists which could benefit the officers charged in Mr. Gray’s death and that the prosecutor did not want this information uncovered by investigators,” the attorneys’ court filing states.
The six officers have a list of charges against them, including second-degree depraved-heart murder and manslaughter. A trial has been set to begin in October, and a hearing on the motions is scheduled to take place in September.
