Baltimore Mayor Wants Justice For Freddie Gray, Seeks Investigation To Address “Weak” Problem

Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has come forward to speak out on the death of Maryland man Freddie Gray at the hands of the police.

According to reports, Rawlings-Blake wants an investigation to go down to see if discrimination is happening in her own backyard.

“We all know that Baltimore continues to have a fractured relationship between the police and the community,” Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said, in the wake of protests over the treatment of Freddie Gray, the young black man who was fatally injured in police custody. “We have to have a foundation of trust,” she said, “and I believe that we need the assistance of the Department of Justice and the civil rights investigation to shore up that foundation, which is weak right now in this city.” (New York Times)

Check out what criminal charges were handed out in the Freddie Gray case on the next page…

Last week, charges were handed out to the six officers that arrested Gray.

State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby declared that Freddie Gray’s death was a homicide, his arrest was illegal, and his treatment in custody amounted to murder and manslaughter. Onlookers began to cheer and then express amazement over Mosby’s announcement, which few expected so quickly. “The findings of our comprehensive, thorough and independent investigation coupled with the medical examiner’s determination that Mr. Gray’s death was a homicide,” Mosby said, “we have probable cause to file criminal charges.” (ABC News)

According to CNN affiliate WJLA, Gray’s placement in a police van after being arrested ultimately cost him his life.

The sources quoted by the Washington-based station said the medical examiner had determined Gray’s death was caused by a catastrophic injury after he slammed into the back of the police transport van while inside it, “apparently breaking his neck; a head injury he sustained matches a bolt in the back of the van.” The station said it was unclear what caused Gray to slam into the back of the van and whether Gray caused the injury. (CNN)

Reports claimed cops made an unaccounted stop with Gray before arriving to the police station.

The Baltimore police on Thursday handed over to prosecutors the results of their much-anticipated initial investigation into the fatal injury suffered by a young man in their custody, 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,” said the deputy police commissioner, Kevin Davis. He added that it was “previously unknown to us,” but he did not elaborate. (NY Times)