U.S. Justice Department to Conduct Civil Rights Probe in Baltimore Death
The Justice Department said on Tuesday that it will conduct a civil rights investigation into how a 25-year-old man suffered a severe spinal injury while in the custody of Baltimore city police officers and later died.
The federal probe comes one day after the city’s mayor and police commissioner promised to wrap up their own investigation into Freddie Gray’s death by May 1 and allow prosecutors to decide whether criminal charges are warranted. The two investigations can run simultaneously.
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (D) said in a statement that she welcomes the additional scrutiny to help “get answers to the questions so many of us are still asking” about the case. “Any effort that adds additional transparency and builds community trust in this process is welcomed,” she said in the statement.
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