Five of the six Baltimore police officers involved in the arrest of Freddie Gray, the man who died after suffering a severe spinal cord injury while in police custody, have provided statements to investigators.

Meanwhile, the police union has released a statement suggesting that Gray's fatal injury occurred while he was riding in the police van.

Gray, a 25-year-old black man, died of an unexplained spinal injury on April 19, exactly seven days after he was apprehended by Baltimore police. According to officials, Gray made eye contact with an officer and then fled the scene on the morning of Sunday, April 12. He was then chased by the officers, some of whom were patrolling the neighborhood on bike. Once they caught up to him, he was taken into custody for carrying a switchblade knife.

However, cellphone footage captured by witnesses shows that Gray's legs appear to be limp as he was being dragged into a police van. Another witness at the scene said that Gray was screaming in pain, and that his legs folded like "origami."

"The officer had their knee in his neck. And he was just screaming -- screaming for life," said Kevin Moore, reports Vox. "He couldn't breathe. He needed an asthma pump, which he let them know. ... They ignored it."

On the other hand, city officials say that Gray was able to talk and breathe when he was placed inside of the van, and that he was unresponsive by the time officers sought to remove him.

"I know that when Mr. Gray was placed inside that van, he was able to talk and he was upset. And when Mr. Gray was taken out of that van, he could not talk and he could not breathe," said Baltimore Deputy Police Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez during a news conference Monday, reports The Associated Press.

Police say Gray was taken to the University of Maryland Medical Center's Shock Trauma Center, where he died one week later.

Michael Davey, an attorney representing the officers involved, told reporters that Gray was not wearing a seat belt and that he likely suffered the severe spinal injury not during his arrest, but as he traveled in the van.

"Our position is something happened inside that van," said Davey during a news conference on Wednesday. "We just don't know what. ... We need to figure out what happened."

However, the AP notes that failing to strap an inmate in a car with a seatbelt violates a policy that was issued by their own department earlier this month.

The union lawyer also confirmed that to ABC News that the five officers involved in Gray's arrest had given voluntary statements the night of the incident. The sixth officer elected, however, choose not to give a statement.

Davey went on to state that the police officers were justified in chasing Gray after he took off.

"There is a Supreme Court case that states that if you are in a high-crime area, and you flee from the police unprovoked, the police have the legal ability to pursue you, and that's what they did," he said, according to CNN. "In this type of an incident, you do not need probable cause to arrest. You just need a reasonable suspicion to make the stop."