--- description: Report compares his injury to the kind sustained in a shallow-water diving incident. title: Freddie Gray Autopsy Shows He Suffered a 'High-Energy Injury' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd575f6e6cf5a5ce0/6987ec39e53aba59ac4db704/freddie-gray.jpg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Freddie Gray Autopsy Shows He Suffered a 'High-Energy Injury'  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jun 24, 2015 12:25 AM CUT  Freddie Gray was in perfect health until police chased and tackled him in Baltimore over a week ago, his lawyer said. Less than an hour later, he was on his way to a trauma clinic with a spinal injury, where he fell into a coma. Freddie Gray was in perfect health until police chased and tackled him in Baltimore over a week ago, his lawyer said. Less than an hour later, he was on his way to a trauma clinic with a spinal injury, where he fell into a coma.Family of Freddie Gray  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jun 24, 2015 12:25 AM CUT An autopsy report on Freddie Gray, the unarmed Baltimore man whose death in April reignited the national conversation on race and police brutality, reveals he sustained a “high-energy injury” in police custody that under different circumstances might have been ruled an accident. The report, a copy of which was obtained by the Baltimore _Sun_, details how Gray, who was arrested on April 12 and put into a van on his stomach, might have been tossed around after the van changed its direction. The 25-year-old died a week later. Six police officers were later indicted in the case; all have pleaded not guilty, and a trial is set for later this year. The state’s medical examiner’s office ruled Gray’s death a homicide due to the officers’ apparent failure to abide by safety protocols “through acts of omission,” the report states. It describes an injury similar to the kind one would endure from a shallow-water diving incident, and notes that Gray would likely have been unable to break his own fall because his ankles and wrists were tied. The injury to his spinal cord, the report finds, also would have inhibited his abilities to breathe or move his limbs. The autopsy was finished on April 30, but has not yet been released publicly. The medical examiner’s office did not comment on the report. [Read more at the Baltimore _Sun_](http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/freddie-gray/bs-md-ci-freddie-gray-autopsy-20150623-story.html#page=1 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3932991/freddie-gray-baltimore-police-injury/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3932991/freddie-gray-baltimore-police-injury/"},"headline":"Freddie Gray Autopsy Shows He Suffered a 'High-Energy Injury'","datePublished":"2015-06-24T00:25:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T08:28:10.375Z","description":"Report compares his injury to the kind sustained in a shallow-water diving incident","url":"https://time.com/3932991/freddie-gray-baltimore-police-injury/","keywords":["Crime","Death","police","Race","baltimore","black lives matter","freddie gray"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd575f6e6cf5a5ce0/6987ec39e53aba59ac4db704/freddie-gray.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd575f6e6cf5a5ce0/6987ec39e53aba59ac4db704/freddie-gray.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Baltimore seeks answers in Freddie Gray's death in police custody","caption":"Baltimore seeks answers in Freddie Gray's death in police custody","creditText":"Family of Freddie Gray","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3932991/freddie-gray-baltimore-police-injury/","name":"Freddie Gray Autopsy Shows He Suffered a 'High-Energy Injury'"}}]}] ```