Donta Allen, who was the prisoner in the van with Freddie Gray on the ride to the police station on April 12th, disputed a Washington Post story Thursday that referenced police records in which Allen allegedly said Gray was “trying to injure himself.”
Allen told the local CBS affliliate WJZ Thursday he was the other prisoner in the van with Gray, and that he never told that to the police. “All I did was go straight to the station, but I heard a little banging like he was banging his head,” Allen said.
He added: “They trying to make it seem like I told them that, I made it like Freddie Gray did that to himself. Why the f–k would he do that to himself?”
The Post reported Wednesday that police records said the unnamed prisoner told police Gray was trying to injure himself in the van.
But Allen said the two were separated in the vehicle, and he said he couldn’t see Gray.
“When I got in the van, I didn’t hear nothing. It was a smooth ride,” Allen said. “We went straight to the police station. All I heard was a little banging for about four seconds. I just heard little banging, just little banging.”
“It is clear he is disputing an internal police report,” a Washington Post report spokesperson told TheWrap. “We accurately quoted from that report, which was a search warrant affidavit written by a police investigator.”
Gray was arrested by police on April 12th, and placed in a van for transfer. He was discovered to be in cardiac arrest almost an hour later when arriving at the police station. He suffered a spinal injury and died on April 19th. Baltimore has suffered street riots and violence since then.