Baltimore cops: Gray death probe findings handed in
Baltimore police said Thursday that they have turned over a much-anticipated report of their investigation into the death of Freddie Gray to prosecutors.
The report comes as officials are worried about another flash point in the city of 600,000, which saw riots and looting on Monday, clamped down since by nightly curfews. Streets in Baltimore were relatively quiet as people returned to their normal routines, though there was still a heavy police presence.
Police Commissioner Anthony Batts says the curfew will remain in effect at least through the weekend, when large protest marches are planned.
Some groups, including CASA de Maryland and members of the Baltimore United for Change coalition, are asking that more of the process be open to public scrutiny. They've planned a rally and march for this afternoon.
"The public has a right to know the details of the investigation," said Kim Propeack, director of CASA in Action, the political arm of the immigrant advocacy organization.
Batts said at a news conference that his department turned over the report a day early because he understood the public's frustration and the urgency in the case. Six police officers, including a lieutenant and a sergeant, have been suspended after the death of Gray, 25, while he was in police custody.
The state's attorney's office released a statement asking for patience while it conducts its investigation.
Police also said Thursday that a transport van that Gray was placed in after his arrest made an additional stop, which was not initially known to investigators. They did not say why the van stopped or provide other details. Police said the extra stop was captured on a private security camera.
Batts said the case is still an active, open investigation that police are working.
The state's attorney's office will now have to decide whether to file criminal charges. The U.S. Department of Justice is also conducting its own investigation.
On Thursday, authorities released 101 people from jail without charges being filed.
Just before 5 p.m., about 500 people marched in the streets, chanting and raising their fists. They soon met up with another group, and together they moved peacefully toward City Hall.
A team from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Thursday began investigating the site of a three-alarm fire Monday night that destroyed a senior center in East Baltimore. The blaze is one of seven fires the ATF team is investigating as possible arsons, said Special Agent David Cheplak.
The report from the police to prosecutors comes as Batts has admitted flaws in the way officers handled Gray after they chased him through a West Baltimore housing project and arrested him. Police have said they later found a switchblade clipped to the inside of his pants.
Batts has said officers repeatedly ignored Gray's pleas for medical help and failed to secure him with a safety belt or harness in the back of the transport van, as policy requires.
Video shot by several bystanders has fueled the rage. It shows two officers on top of Gray during his arrest, putting their knees in his back, then dragging his seemingly limp body to the van as he cries out. Batts has said Gray stood on one leg and climbed into the van on his own.
In Philadelphia Thursday, a small group of protesters clashed with police as they tried to block the entrance to a major interstate. It wasn't known if any arrests were made.
With AP
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