Filing Says Freddie Gray Complained Of Back Problem

BALTIMORE (AP) — Attorneys for Caesar Goodson, one of six officers facing criminal charges stemming from the death of Freddie Gray, filed two internal police documents that claim Gray complained of a back injury to police officers more than a month before his death in the back of a police van and he had a history of hurting himself while in custody.

The incident, first disclosed to defense attorneys during the trial for William Porter that ended in a mistrial earlier this month, is detailed in a police document that was until recently under seal. In the May 1 document, Baltimore Police Sgt. John Herzog says that during a March 31 meeting with Gray at the Western District station house, Gray “was awkwardly sitting in the chair, leaning to the left.” Herzog wrote that when he asked Gray about his position, he responded “something to the effect of `I hurt my back’ or `I have a bad back.”‘

Herzog went on to write that the incident had slipped his mind but his memory was “jogged” after “rumors and information was released that Freddie Gray possibly had been involved in a car accident.” Herzog said Gray had come to the station to provide information about a string of robberies in the neighborhood.

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