Baltimore police hand over preliminary Freddie Gray investigation to state prosecutors

Freddie Gray case was handed over a day earlier than expected

(Getty Images)

Police in Baltimore last night delivered to prosecutors a first report into the death while in custody of 25-year-old Freddie Gray one day earlier than expected but declined to make any of it public, a stance that risked stoking tensions in the city, which remains under a daily nighttime curfew.

There was no indication of the authorities being willing to offer any quick explanation of how Mr Gray suffered a partially severed spine after being taken into custody on 12 April. He died in hospital one week later. The case sparked violence in Baltimore on Monday, with widespread arson and looting.

It has become the latest flashpoint in a national debate about alleged police abuse of minorities that flared last year after the deaths at the hands of police of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in New York. Under the banner of justice for Freddie Gray, anti-police protests broke out in several other major US cities on Wednesday night, including in New York City where 100 people were arrested.

Baltimore Police Commissioner, Anthony Batts, said the internal report was being given to State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby one day ahead of time, because of the “sense of urgency” regarding the case. “Family and community deserve transparency and truth,” he said.

Ms Mosby, who has only been in her job for five months, must decide whether there is cause to empanel a grand jury to look into the conduct of the six officers who arrested Mr Gray and transported him in a police wagon and decide whether charges should be brought against any of them. That decision could be weeks or even months away, however.

Unclear still is whether Mr Gray suffered his injuries during arrest or during the time he was inside the travelling police wagon. Citing a police document, the Washington Post reported that another prisoners in the same wagon, but separated from him by a divider, had said Mr Gray may have been deliberately trying to harm himself inside the van.