BALTIMORE (AP) – A detective is testifying that an officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray told her the man reported that he couldn’t breathe during a van ride after his arrest.

The testimony is important for prosecutors because Gray’s attorneys said during opening statements that Officer William Porter never heard Gray say he couldn’t breathe.

Detective Syreeta Teel testified Friday that Porter made the statement during a phone call she had with him about the police investigation.

Porter is one of six officers charged in the death of Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died a week after his neck was broken in the back of a police van.

Teel said Porter asked Gray to get up off the van floor and Gray replied that he couldn’t, so Porter lifted the man onto a bench.