BALTIMORE — A police officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray testified Monday that Gray asked to be taken to a hospital but did not appear to need medical help during the van ride in which his neck was broken in April 2015.

Officer William Porter testified that he told fellow Officer Caesar Goodson, the van’s driver, that Gray twice asked to be taken to a hospital. But the officers doubted the veracity of his request because he was able to lift himself from the floor to a bench in the van and because detainees often fake injuries to avoid jail, Officer Porter said.

He testified on he third day of the trial of Officer Goodson, who faces the most serious charges of the six police officers accused in the arrest and death of Gray. Officer Goodson, 46, is charged with second-degree “depraved heart” murder, manslaughter, assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment. He would face 30 years in prison on the murder charge alone if convicted.

Gray had been handcuffed and shackled but not secured with a seat belt in the back of the van, a violation of police department policy. He died as a result of his injuries a week later on April 19, 2015.

His death and funeral touched off days of protests and rioting in Baltimore.