The Baltimore prosecution team did not turn over an investigative memo to defense attorneys outlining knowledge of a prior back injury claimed by Freddie Gray. Defense attorneys now want to explore the previously undisclosed information.
BALTIMORE – Attorneys for Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr. have filed in court an internal police document in which officers wrote that Freddie Gray once complained of a back problem, as part of the defense’s effort to gain access to Gray’s medical records.
The document had been previously sealed, after Judge Barry Williams ruled that prosecutors failed to disclose it to defense attorneys for Officer William G. Porter until his trial was underway last month. Porter’s case ended in a mistrial when jurors failed to reach a verdict.
Goodson’s attorneys had asked that their filing including the document be sealed, but Williams denied the request.
The medical examiner who performed Gray’s autopsy after his death in police custody has testified that she found no evidence of a previous back or neck injury. The attorney for Gray’s family also said Gray didn’t have a previous injury and called the claim a red herring.
In the document dated May 1, Western District Sgt. John Herzog said that Gray was in his office on March 31 and had “provided us with valuable intelligence regarding a robbery crew” operating in the area of North and Pennsylvania avenues.
Herzog said Gray was sitting awkwardly, and he asked him what was wrong. Herzog said he and another officer in the office, Sgt. Scott Mileto, recalled that Gray “stated something to the effect of ‘I hurt my back’ or ‘I have a bad back.'”
[…] The existence of the Herzog document was disclosed by prosecutors Dec. 7, after Porter’s trial was underway.
Herzog said he notified Assistant State’s Attorney Cynthia Banks on May 1 — the day of the indictments against the six officers — after rumors of a back injury to Gray “jogged our memory.”
Williams determined that prosecutors had committed a discovery violation, but he denied a defense request for a mistrial based on that violation.
Williams said he would allow Porter’s defense attorneys to mention the information contained in Herzog’s report, but he ordered the report sealed and it never was mentioned again at Porter’s trial.
That document and a slew of other new court filings from Dec. 15 became publicly available Thursday. Goodson’s defense team wanted each of their filings sealed, which Williams denied. (read more)
