DOJ to investigate Baltimore death

BALTIMORE – The Justice Department said Tuesday it has opened a civil rights investigation into the death of Freddie Gray, a black man who suffered a fatal spinal-cord injury under mysterious circumstances after he was handcuffed and put in the back of a police van.

After the probe was announced, at least 1,000 people gathered at a previously planned rally at the site of Gray’s arrest. Protesters marched to a police station a couple of blocks away, chanting and holding signs that read, “Black Lives Matter,” and “No Justice, No Peace” – slogans that have come to embody what demonstrators believe is widespread mistreatment of blacks by police.

Pricilla Jackson carried a sign reading, “Convict Freddie’s killers,” that listed the names of the six officers suspended with pay while local authorities and the U.S. Justice Department investigate the death. Jackson, who is black, said she wants Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to know she and others have been brutalized by police.

“They’re hurting us when they throw us to the ground and kick us and punch us,” said Jackson, 53.

At least one activist was detained when he jumped past police barriers.

Gray’s mother, Gloria Darden, was overcome with grief and carried away at one point by several men. Another female family member collapsed in tears and also was helped away.

As the sun fell, some protesters lit candles and the demonstration peacefully dispersed. More protests were planned for later in the week.

Gray, 25, was taken into custody April 12 after police “made eye contact” with him and another man in an area known for drug activity, police said. Gray was handcuffed and put in a transport van. At some point during his roughly 30-minute ride, the van was stopped and Gray’s legs were shackled when an officer felt he was becoming “irate,” police said.

Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said Gray asked for an inhaler, and then several times asked for medical care. He was eventually rushed to a hospital.

Gray died Sunday – a week after his arrest – of what police described as “a significant spinal injury.”

Exactly how he was injured and what happened in the van is not known.

Justice Department spokeswoman Dena Iverson said investigators are “gathering information to determine whether any prosecutable civil rights violation occurred.”

The mayor said she welcomed the Justice Department probe.