So police officials kinda sorta exaggerated (or lied, as some of us call it) the possibility that Freddie Gray injured himself in the police van, surprising absolutely no one! From the CBS affiliate in Baltimore, that witness speaks out:
“I am Donta Allen. I am the one who was in the van with Freddie Gray,” Allen said.The one who the police commissioner calls the second prisoner in the van.“
The second prisoner who was picked up said that he didn’t see any harm done to Freddie at all,” Commissioner Anthony Batts said. “What he has said is that he heard Freddie thrashing about.”
But Allen wants to set something straight.
“All I did was go straight to the station, but I heard a little banging like he was banging his head,” he said.
He tells WJZ he’s angry about an internal police report published in The Washington Post.
“And they trying to make it seem like I told them that, I made it like Freddie Gray did that to hisself (sic),” Allen said. “Why the [expletive] would he do that to hisself (sic)?”
Allen was in the van because he allegedly stole a cigarette from a store on North Avenue.He was never charged. Instead he was brought straight to the station.
“I talked to homicide. I told homicide the same story.” Allen said.
A story he says is being distorted and now he fears being killed.
“I had two options today right, either come and talk to y’all and get my credibility straight with ya’ll and not get killed by these [expletive] or not tell a true story,” Allen added. “The only reason I’m doing this is because they put my name in a bad state.”
By the way, I just want to say the police reporter interviewed by Chris Hayes did a really thorough, professional job. Every local news channel should be lucky enough to have reporters like this.
