Baltimore's top prosecutor gets police report on arrestee's death

BALTIMORE -- Completing their initial investigation into the fatal injury suffered by a 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 shifts the focus to the city's new state's attorney, Marilyn 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 filed, they could still be months away.

Freddie Gray was found unconscious in the van when it arrived at a police station April 12. The 25-year-old had suffered a spinal injury and died a week later, touching off waves of protests across Baltimore, capped by a riot Monday in which hundreds of people torched buildings, looted stores and pelted police officers with rocks.

The disclosure of the additional stop by the van was the one new piece of information that Davis and Commissioner Anthony 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 file 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 Gray family's lawyers also urged patience.

"This family wants justice, and they want justice that comes at the right time and not too soon," attorney Hassan Murphy said.

The case has been a tough test for Baltimore's political and law enforcement leaders, with demonstrators clamoring for someone to be punished in face of a history of hostility between the police and residents of the majority-black city.

Mosby, 35, took office less than four months ago. 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."

"The results of [the police] 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.

Autopsy completed

Officers riding bicycles arrested Gray in the 1700 block of Presbury Street, in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood of northwest Baltimore, on April 12. 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.

Video shot by several bystanders has fueled the rage in Baltimore. 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.

Police have acknowledged that he was not wearing a seat belt, 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 Thursday that there was another stop, at Fremont Avenue and Mosher Street, less than a mile southeast of where Gray was arrested.

Meanwhile, an investigative document obtained Wednesday by The Washington Post said the prisoner riding in the van with Gray told investigators he could hear Gray "banging against the walls" of the vehicle and believed he "was intentionally trying to injure himself."

The prisoner, who is in jail, was separated from Gray by a metal partition and could not see him. His statement is contained in an application for a search warrant, which is sealed by the court.

The Post was given the document under the condition that the prisoner not be named because the person who provided it feared for the inmate's safety.

It was not clear whether any additional evidence corroborated the prisoner's statement.

The forensic pathologists who studied Gray's body for clues declined to make official statements Thursday.

Bruce Goldfarb, a spokesman for the Maryland medical examiner's office, said the office has completed Gray's autopsy, but the forensic investigation is still in process and no conclusions have been sent to police or prosecutors.

When his report is complete, Goldfarb said, a copy will be sent to the Baltimore state's attorney's office.

"The autopsy is only one part of the forensic investigation," Goldfarb said. "The whole point is to determine cause and manner of death, and there are lab tests and lots of other things that have to be done."

Some advocacy groups, including CASA de Maryland and members of the Baltimore United for Change coalition, are asking that more of the investigative process be open to public scrutiny. They've planned a rally and march for today from the steps of the state's attorney's office to City Hall.

But Batts has said revealing too much information could compromise any possible prosecution.

Curfew extended

The end of the preliminary investigation 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 in Baltimore, 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 after Gray's funeral Monday. Batts said Thursday that the curfew will remain in effect through the weekend.

Protests across the country Wednesday 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.

The protests were continuing Thursday, with crowds gathering in Philadelphia and Baltimore in the evening. But the curfew in Baltimore went into effect for the third night without any major problems, officials said.

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 Thursday morning, streets in Baltimore were relatively quiet as people tried to return to work and their normal routines.

In the west Baltimore neighborhood that was ground zero for much of the protests and riots earlier in the week, a resident named Wanda, who declined to give her last name, was waiting for a bus. It didn't come the previous day.

The buses had been rerouted, detouring around the troubled areas.

"I hope everything gets back like it was," she said Thursday.

Others stood at random spots along North Avenue, hoping a bus would come their way.

"I've been catching cabs for days, and I can't really afford it," said Tammie Johnson, who does eviction paperwork for a company in east Baltimore.

Next door to a CVS drugstore that was looted and burned Monday, about 60 senior citizens who live in a building there worried about how they would get their medication, food and toiletries. The next closest drugstore to them is about 3 miles away, too far for most to walk.

But on Thursday, some of their concerns were alleviated as several area residents and businesses dropped off donated items.

"This is such a blessing," said Reginald Hope, 72, who lives in the building.

Information for this article was contributed by Richard Perez-Pena and Alan Blinder of The New York Times; by Josh Hicks, Dana Hedgpeth, Keith L. Alexander, Lynh Bui, John Woodrox Cox, Mary Pat Flaherty, Ashley Halsey III, Joe Heim, Arelis Hernandez, Dan Morse, Peter Hermann, Cheryl W. Thompson, Matthew Zapotosky and Julie Zauzmer of The Washington Post; and by Amanda Lee Myers, David Dishneau, Juliet Linderman and Kasey Jones of The Associated Press.

A Section on 05/01/2015