Rough ride theory is a twist in police custody death case

BALTIMORE (AP) — Prosecutors introduced a new theory as a murder trial started for a Baltimore police van driver charged in the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man whose neck was broken in the back of the wagon.

Not only was Officer Caesar Goodson negligent when he didn't buckle Gray into a seat belt, prosecutors said, he intentionally wanted to injure Gray by giving him a "rough ride" — blowing through a stop sign and making a sharp turn at such a high speed that he crossed a double yellow line.

[...] opening statements Thursday marked the first time they accused the driver of intending to hurt Gray, whose death in April 2015 touched off the worst riots in Baltimore in decades.

A "rough ride" is police lingo for putting a prisoner in a police wagon without a seat belt and driving so erratically that he or she is thrown around.

Graham said Goodson — "a good officer, a gentle man, a nice guy" — didn't belt Gray in because of his "violent and erratic behavior" that included screaming and kicking with such force that the wagon shook.

Graham told the judge that the assistant medical examiner who performed Gray's autopsy and ruled his death a homicide initially told an investigator it was "a freakish accident" before meeting with prosecutors and changing her mind.