Police thus removed him and placed him in leg restraints — ankle cuffs, to go along with the handcuffs that had already been applied. Gray was “then slid onto the floor of the van, belly down and head first,”
CAuse of death was trauma sustained while in the van. Seems to me that it was stupid to put him in restraints like this.
Ever made a stupid move and wound up with a sprained neck?? Now imagine a stupid move on drugs....where you’re not feeling a damn thing. Theoretically, Freddie killed himself.
As an occasional viewer of COPS, I have seen this many times. A guy in the back of the police car starts banging his head against stuff...so they pull him out, add leg restraints, and lay him in the back seat unbelted.
Wise or not, its a common practice. The defense should call up the police chief, deputy chief, and down the line...and ask if they ever transported a prisoner unbelted.
If its a normal practice, its hard to call it 2nd degree murder.