New video of police placing shackles on Freddie Gray’s feet and handcuffs on his wrists has been released by a Baltimore newspaper Wednesday, as six police officers await trial in the fatal encounter.
The Baltimore Sun released a video on its website which shows some of the now-deleted security footage released by the Baltimore Police on YouTube. The security video doesn’t capture the arrest but does show the police van driving out of frame and a person recording the incident on their cell phone.
The video, obtained by Baltimore Sun reporters, was shot by an unidentified woman near the corner of Mount Street and Baker Street in Baltimore, Maryland using a cell phone owned by Michelle Gross, a Baltimore resident who called Gray “son.” Gross lives near the area where Gray was arrested and went outside when she heard Gray screaming outside. She gave her phone to the unidentified woman to call 911.
But as they walked from Mount Street and Presbury Street where Gray was arrested, they happened upon the police van stopping at Mount and Baker Street, where the video was shot.
It’s distorted, shaky, and only a few seconds long but captures a key moment in the detention of Freddie Gray.
The police van carrying Gray stopped six times – the video shows the first stop after Gray was arrested, when police officers pulled him out of the back of the van to put leg shackles and handcuffs on him.
Gray’s legs can be seen in the video hanging out of the back of the van. He doesn’t move while four officers huddle around him, placing shackles on his legs.
READ MORE: A timeline of Freddie Gray’s “illegal” arrest
The unidentified witness who shot the video told The Baltimore Sun that Gray was “just laying there” as he was shackled.
The video stops before he was placed back into the van. State Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby said Gray’s fatal injuries were suffered as a result of being improperly restrained in the van.
“Mr. Gray suffered a severe and critical neck injury as a result of being handcuffed, shackled by his feet, and being unrestrained inside the BPD wagon,” she said when announcing charges against six officers on May 1.
Gray died in hospital a week later.
How Gray was placed in the van forms a key part of the trial against the six officers, Mosby said, as leaving him unrestrained and ignoring his request for medical attention broke Baltimore police protocol.
Officer Caesar Goodson, the driver of the van, faces the most serious charges including second-degree “depraved-heart” murder, involuntary manslaughter, misconduct in office, and failure to secure a prisoner in addition to other offences. Officer William Porter, Lt. Brian, Officer Edward Nero, Officer Garrett, and Sgt. Alicia White have all been charged with various offences.
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