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 Officer William Porter, 26, is accused of manslaughter in the
April death of Freddie Gray from a neck injury suffered while
transported in a police van.
Porter is the first of six officers, three of them black, to face
trial in Gray's death, which triggered rioting in the largely black
city and fueled a U.S. debate on police brutality.
Prosecutors in Baltimore City Circuit Court contend that Porter
ignored Gray's pleas for medical aid and failed to secure him in the
back of a police transport van in violation of department protocol.
The defense has said Porter did not believe Gray, 25, was seriously
injured until he was found shackled, handcuffed and unconscious at
the end of the van ride at a police station. Gray had been arrested
when he was found with a knife in his possession after a foot chase.
Dr. Morris Marc Soriano, a neurological surgeon from Rockford,
Illinois, and prosecution witness, said on Monday the failure to get
Gray medical attention brought on brain death.
Had a medic promptly put a breathing tube down Gray's throat, "he
would not have suffered the brain injury that killed him," he said.
Assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Carol Allan, who performed Gray's
autopsy, testified that she would not have classified Gray's death a
homicide had Porter called a medic when Gray asked for one.
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Porter faces charges of involuntary manslaughter, second-degree
assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office.
Charges against the other officers accused in the case range from
misconduct to second-degree murder.
(Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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