A Baltimore man whose spine was partially severed while in police custody 'clung to life for 7 days' and then died - and no one knows exactly what happened

A 25-year-old Baltimore man died Sunday a week after sustaining mysterious injuries, at some point, while in police custody after his arrest. Even with videos of his detainment, what happened remains unclear. 

Baltimore police arrested Freddie Gray "without force or incident" on April 12 for possession of a switchblade knife, according to charging documents written by officer Garrett Miller and cited by the Baltimore Sun. During transport, Gray suffered a "medical emergency," Miller wrote. That incident severed Gray's spine 80% at his neck, according to a statement from the his family attorney, William "Billy" Murphy, Jr. 

"He lapsed into a coma, died, was resuscitated, stayed in a coma and on Monday, underwent extensive surgery at Shock Trauma to save his life," Murphy, Jr. said. Gray died on Sunday, the Baltimore Sun reported. 

Autopsy results show that a "significant spinal injury" caused Gray's death, the Associated Press reported. "What we don't know is how he suffered that injury," Deputy Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez told the AP.

It is clear that Gray was placed in "leg irons" after an officer felt he was becoming "irate," according to a police timeline cited by the AP. 

Initially, police stopped Gray because he "fled unprovoked upon noticing police presence," according to court documents cited by the Sun. Officers say they then saw a knife clipped to the inside of his pants pocket. A video, taken by a bystander, shows police dragging Gray into a van - but not how the injury happened. Cellphone video, taken from a different angle, also shows the final moments of his arrest. 

"When Mr. Gray was put in that van, he could talk, he was upset," Rodriguez told the AP. "And he was taken out of that van, he could not talk, and he could not breathe."

At a news conference on Monday, the Sun reports, police said that Gray repeatedly asked for medical care, including an inhaler, during his arrest but didn't receive it.

All six officers involved in the incident have since been suspended, Rodriguez told the AP. The community has already been protesting, and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has promised to provide them with answers. 

The US Justice Department is conducting a separate review of the Baltimore police department, according to Reuters. Police Commissioner Anthony Batts requested the review after the Baltimore Sun revealed the department had spent nearly $6 million defending itself in more than 100 lawsuits alleging misconduct, including police brutality.

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