DOJ won’t charge Baltimore officers in Freddie Gray case
BALTIMORE — The U.S. Department of Justice will not bring charges against Baltimore police officers in connection with the death of 25-yearold Freddie Gray from injuries sustained in police custody in 2015, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced the department was conducting a criminal civil rights investigation into Gray’s death on April 27, 2015, the same day as Gray’s funeral and the eruption of rioting, looting and arson in Baltimore.
Lynch said at the time that the department would “continue our careful and deliberate examination of the facts in the coming days and weeks” to determine whether any officers should be charged with violating Gray’s civil rights.
Now, nearly 2 1 ⁄2 years later, Justice Department investigators have concluded that no charges are warranted, according to the sources.
The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.
The Justice Department has declined to comment on the status of the investigation, and it was unclear Tuesday if a public announcement was planned. Officials at the FBI and the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s office referred questions to the Justice Department.
The department has made announcements after investigators declined to bring charges in other cases.
William H. “Billy” Murphy, the Gray family’s attorney, could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.
Baltimore Police spokesman T.J. Smith declined to comment.
The end of the federal investigation without charges means no officers will be held criminally responsible for Gray’s death. According to local prosecutors, Gray died after suffering a fatal spinal cord injury in the back of a Baltimore police transport van following his arrest on the morning of April 12, 2015.
Gray’s death a week later sparked widespread protests against police brutality in Baltimore. Clashes between police and civilians spiraled out of control on the day of his funeral, erupting into rioting that caused millions of dollars in damages. The city was put under a weeklong nightly curfew.
Days after the rioting, Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby filed local criminal charges against six police officers, ranging from misconduct in office and reckless endangerment to manslaughter and second-degree depraved heart murder.
All of the officers pleaded not guilty and none of them were convicted.
Three — Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., Lt. Brian Rice and Officer Edward Nero — were acquitted in bench trials before Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams. Mosby subsequently dropped the charges against Sgt. Alicia White, Officer Garrett Miller and Officer William Porter, citing the unlikely chance of a conviction with Williams scheduled to preside over their trials as well.