Baltimore inquiry: Police van made undisclosed stop
Completing their initial investigation into the fatal injury sustained by a young man in their custody, the Baltimore police Thursday gave state prosecutors their findings, including the discovery that a police van carrying the man made a previously undisclosed stop en route to a police station.
The new stop turned up on video taken from “a privately owned camera,” the deputy police commissioner, Kevin Davis, said, and it was “previously unknown to us.” That suggested the officers involved had not told investigators about it.
The transition Thursday opens a new phase in the case and shifts the focus to the city’s new, relatively untested state attorney, Marilyn J. Mosby. Her office, which acknowledged receiving the findings, will decide whether it has justification and enough evidence to prosecute any of the officers involved; if so, it will present its case to a grand jury and ask for an indictment. If any criminal charges are brought, they could still be months away.
The disclosure of the additional stop by the van was the one new piece of information about what happened April 12, the day that Freddie Gray was injured in police custody, that Davis and Commissioner Anthony W. Batts revealed at a brief news conference Thursday. They took no questions and offered no details to help gauge the disclosure’s importance.
“The family and the community and the public deserve transparency and truth,” Batts said.
Officials had warned the public not to expect that the conclusion of the police inquiry would mean major new revelations about the death of Gray, who was black – much less a decision on whether to bring criminal charges against any police officers.
“I understand the frustration; I understand the sense of urgency,” the commissioner said. “Getting to the right answer is more important than the speed.”
The case has been a tough test for Baltimore’s political and law enforcement leaders, with demonstrators clamoring for someone to be punished, videos of Gray’s handling that appear inconclusive, and a history of hostility between the police and residents of this majority-black city. But in contrast to many other cities that have experienced similar tensions, Baltimore’s leaders – including Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Batts and Mosby – are also black, giving a somewhat different tenor to clashes between the power structure and its critics.
Mosby, 35, took office less than four months ago and now finds herself in a national spotlight. She defeated an incumbent last year by vowing to be tougher on violent criminals, while also saying she would be more aggressive in taking on police misconduct. On Thursday she released a statement pleading for patience and asking the public to “trust the process of the justice system.” Mosby played down the significance of the police handoff.
“The results of their investigation is not new to us,” she said. “We have been briefed regularly throughout their process while simultaneously conducting our own independent investigation into the death of Freddie Gray.”
As for the Police Department, Batts said: “This does not mean that the investigation is over. If new evidence is found, we will follow it. If new direction is given by the state’s attorney, we will obey it.”
Police commanders said more than 30 detectives, operating on an unusually swift timetable, had been working on the investigation. That included reviewing every available video that might show anything about what happened to Gray the day he was arrested, from closed-circuit security camera images to cellphone video, Davis said.
Officers riding bicycles arrested Gray in the 1700 block of Presbury Street, in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood of northwest Baltimore. They charged him with illegal possession of a switchblade knife, and called a van to take him to the Western District police station.
At some point, Gray suffered a severe neck injury, which caused his death. Among the crucial unanswered questions are how he was hurt, whether it was before or during the van ride, and whether the ride exacerbated an earlier injury. Police have acknowledged that he was not wearing a seatbelt, contrary to department policy, and that he should have received medical attention sooner. Gray died of his injuries a week later.
Officials had previously said that the van had made three stops before reaching the station, including one to put leg restraints on Gray, who was described as being unruly, and one to pick up another prisoner. But Davis said there was another stop, at Fremont Avenue and Mosher Street, less than a mile southeast of where Gray was arrested.
The announcement that the preliminary investigation was over came after a second night of relative calm on the streets of Baltimore, even as demonstrations against police practices generated scores of arrests across the United States. With the police and the National Guard out in large numbers, and community leaders urging residents to go home, the streets emptied as Wednesday evening wore on and a second night passed without the violent protests that gripped Baltimore early in the week.
The 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew was imposed after peaceful demonstrations gave way to arson, looting and rioting following Gray’s funeral Monday.
Wednesday brought protests across the country that led to arrests, including at least 11 in Denver and more than 100 in New York. There were also large demonstrations in a handful of other cities, including Boston, Minneapolis and Washington, but the authorities said they remained peaceful.
In New York, the police said that most arrests were for disorderly conduct. Officers began making arrests after a rally, which started in Manhattan’s Union Square, spilled into the streets and disrupted traffic.
Before Wednesday night’s curfew took effect in Baltimore, a small group of people gathered at the intersection that was the scene of some of the most prolific violence and looting Monday. A fistfight broke out in the area, fueling a sense of tension in the minutes before the citywide shutdown was scheduled to begin. But the crowd at the intersection of North and Pennsylvania avenues – much smaller than the one at the same location the previous night - dispersed shortly after 10 p.m. on Wednesday.
This story was originally published April 30, 2015 at 8:39 AM.