Majority Of Adult Baltimore Protesters Arrested On Monday Are Dismissed Without Charges

Freddie Gray sustained his fatal injuries inside the police transport van, police sources told WJLA.

Police and the medical examiner on Thursday turned their findings on their investigation into Gray's death over to prosecutors, who will decide if any of the officers should face criminal charges.

According to WJLA, an injury to Gray's head matched a bolt inside the van. He apparently broke his neck after slamming into the back of the van, WJLA reported. Police have previously said that they believed Gray was uninjured when he entered the van.

Six officers involved in his arrest have been suspended as the investigation continues. Five have given statements to police, but the driver of the van has not, WJLA reported.

The state's attorney's office released a statement regarding the investigation.

We have been briefed regularly throughout their process while simultaneously conducting our own independent investigation into the death of Freddie Gray. While we have and will continue to leverage the information received by the Department, we are not relying solely on their findings but rather the facts that we have gathered and verified. We ask for the public to remain patient and peaceful and to trust the process of the justice system.

"We have exhausted every lead at this time," he said. "This does not mean the investigation is over. If new evidence is found, we will follow it."

Deputy Commissioner Kevin Davis said the task force's investigation found that the van, which transported Freddie Gray, made a second stop previously unknown to law enforcement officials.

"This story has been around since the beginning of this incident," Miller told MSNBC, adding that her reporting is that by the time the prisoner was loaded into the van, Gray was "unresponsive."

She added that her reporting didn't reveal Gray had any external injuries consistent with his slamming his head against the van.

A prisoner in the police van with Freddie Gray told investigators that Gray was trying to "injure himself," according to a police document obtained by the Washington Post.

It's unclear if Gray sustained his fatal injury – a nearly severed spine – outside the police van during a confrontation with officers or inside the van during his transport to a police facility on April 12.

The prisoner, whose statements are in a search warrant application and are sealed by court order, told police he heard Gray "banging against the walls" of the van and thought that he "was intentionally trying to injure himself," the Post reported.

The newly-released details of the document raise several issues: The prisoner told investigators he couldn't see Gray because a metal partition separated them. It was unclear if Gray was injured before he was loaded into the police van. And it's unclear who leaked the document to the Washington Post and what that person or organization's motivations are.

The Post agreed to publish the details of the letter if they didn't identify the prisoner, who is in jail.

As the Post reported:

The document, written by a Baltimore police investigator, offers the first glimpse of what might have happened inside the van. It is not clear whether any additional evidence backs up the prisoner's version, which is just one piece of a much larger probe.

...

Jason Downs, one of the attorneys for the Gray family, said the family had not been told of the prisoner's comments to investigators.

About 60 people were arrested at protests in New York City Wednesday, police sources told BuzzFeed News.

While official numbers won't be released until Thursday morning, sources also said arrests were "ongoing" and could increase throughout the evening.

The prisoner who rode in the police van with Freddie Gray said he believed Gray was "intentionally trying to injure himself," the Washington Post reported.

The prisoner, who has not been identified, made the statements in an police investigative document obtained by the Post.

Citing the document, the Post reported that the prisoner said Gray was banging the walls of the van during transport.

The two were separated by a metal barrier and could not see each other.

An attorney for the Gray family told the Post they disagreed with any assertion that the 25-year-old caused his own fatal injuries, which included an nearly-severed spine. The attorney added that they were questioning the accuracy of police reports related to the incident.

Police in Baltimore arrested 16 adults and two juveniles Wednesday, Commissioner Anthony Batts said during a news conference.

Batts made the comments about two hours before Baltimore's 10 p.m. curfew began, and as a large crowd continued to protest.

Batts also confirmed that people arrested Monday had been released from custody "with future prosecution in mind."

A large crowd of protesters gathered Wednesday evening in New York City's Union Square.

Protesters wore "Black Lives Matter" shirts and carried signs mentioning Freddie Grey and other black men killed by police.

The protest ultimately promoted a significant police response and, according to witnesses and reporters at the scene, multiple arrests.

Baltimore Deputy District Public Defender Natalie Finegar told BuzzFeed News that 101 people we're released from jail Wednesday "because they never had any charges lodged against them."

Finegar said the people released Wednesday never received a statement of probable cause, and didn't receive a prompt hearing — both legal requirements. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan had suspended the rule requiring prompt hearings, but Finegar said her office does not believe he had the authority to do so.

According to Finegar, the people released Wednesday were mostly Baltimore residents who were "out there on the streets, swept up, and put into central booking" and who "had no idea why they were arrested."

They were then held in small rooms without food or medical attention, Finegar said.

"I'm afraid this is going to further erode the public's confidence in the rule of law in Baltimore," she added.

The people released Wednesday were among a group of 235 arrestees taken into custody Monday. Finegar said that it was unclear Wednesday how many people were still in jail because some of those who were charged bailed out or were released on their own recognizance.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said at a news conference 2,000 National Guard troops and 1,000 police officers were patrolling Baltimore Wednesday evening.

Hogan said the "combined force will not tolerate the violence and looting" that had plagued the city earlier in the week. Hogan also said that he spent the past two days talking to Baltimore residents.

"I was also encouraged by the optimism that I saw," Hogan added.

National Guard General Linda Singh, who is commanding the troops in Baltimore, also told reporters that "trying to change culture, trying to change habits, does not happen overnight."

At the same news conference, Maryland State Police Col. William Palozzi urged people to obey Baltimore's 10 p.m. curfew.

"It is not our desire to arrest everybody," he said. "Or anybody."

A group of students staged a peaceful march to Baltimore's city hall early Wednesday evening.

Estimates from CBS Baltimore on the size of the crowd ranged from a few hundred at the beginning to as many as two thousand at city hall. Students from Johns Hopkins University, as well as local high schools, participated in the march.

Demonstrations continued Wednesday throughout Baltimore but remained peaceful, police officials said, with no new arrests since the night before.

Speaking to reporters during an afternoon briefing, Baltimore Police Capt. J. Eric Kowalczyk said police would continue to allow protests so long as they remained peaceful in nature, referring to a large march that was expected to head from Penn Station to City Hall in the evening.

"So long as people remain peaceful in their expression, we continue to support everyone's 1st Amendment rights and to voice their concerns," he said.

About 500 students from Baltimore area high schools were expected to participate in the demonstration, according to a statement released by organizers, Baltimore United for Change.

Kowalczyk also said the results of the police department's investigation into Freddie Gray's death will be submitted to the state attorney general's office, and that not all of the findings will be released to the public.

"We have an obligation to be accountable to the people of Baltimore," Kowalczyk said. "We're being accountable to (the attorney general's office), so we can be accountable to the public."

If the state attorney general eventually ends up pressing charges in the case, "the integrity of that investigation has be protected."

The court system and state's attorney's office were closed Tuesday due to the violence, leaving nearly all of the demonstrators in Baltimore's Central Booking and Intake Facility, a spokesperson for the facility told BuzzFeed News.

Katie D'Adamo, a lawyer with the Office of the Public Defender, told BuzzFeed News that the adults are being held in tiny cells and have not been able to shower. The juveniles are being held in a separate facility across the street, she said.

Read the full story here.

The Associated Press reported that one of the protesters was the brother of Rekia Boyd, who was killed by an off-duty Chicago police officer in 2012.

Protests also took place in Oakland, California, on April 27 over the death of the 25-year-old Baltimore man. Demonstrators took to the streets and blocked the entrance to two interstate highways in the Bay Area, CBS San Francisco reported.

The same night, six people in South Los Angeles were arrested for protesting. The Los Angeles Times noted that the arrests took place not far from where 25-year-old Ezell Ford was fatally shot by the LAPD last summer.

As a festive afternoon gave way to a tense standoff over the 10 p.m. curfew, police easily dispersed the remaining protesters.

Police fired flash bangs, rubber pellets, smoke grenades, and balls filled with pepper spray, sparking a furious retreat through the rubble on Pennsylvania and West North Avenues in West Baltimore. But before any of that, there was a party.

BuzzFeed News reporters Albert Samaha and Nicolas Medina Mora were on the scene in Baltimore. Read their full story here.

Watch the moment officers swarm Kent at the 0:34 mark.

Attorney Stephen Beatty tweeted that Kent was arrested and brought to the city's Central Booking and Intake Facility and that he was "okay and safe."

Roughly two hours into a citywide curfew to curb rioting, Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts told reporters that lingering unrest appeared to be subsiding.

Amid a heavy presence of the Maryland National Guard, state troopers, and Baltimore police, Batts said there had been no major events since the curfew took affect at 10 p.m.

Most of the issues appeared to have been confined to minor scuffles with authorities as they moved to isolate and disperse violators of the curfew. Early on, some demonstrators could be seen throwing bottles and other items at advancing authorities.

But two hours in, there had been a total of 10 arrests two hours in, Batts said, including two for looting, one for disorderly conduct, and seven for violating the curfew order.

Another officer reported someone brandishing a weapon, Batts added.

Judging from field reports, "this curfew is in fact working, as the mayor had called," he said.

"Citizens are safe, the city is stable, we hope to maintain it that way," Batts told reporters.

The curfew remains in place until 5 a.m.

Images taken just after Tuesday night's curfew began showed thick clouds of gas, police lines, and protesters.

U.S. Department of Justice is currently conducting an investigation in Baltimore.

Speaking on the investigation, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Tuesday during a conference call that she is working with local law enforcement in Baltimore and looks forward to strengthening her relationship with local officials.

The comments come after the U.S. Department of Justice previously opened a probe into Grey's death. The department also announced Monday that its Civil Rights Division was working with the FBI on an investigation into Grey's death.

Clashes broke out Tuesday night in Baltimore as police fired smoke — and possibly tear gas — at protesters who refused to disperse for a mandatory curfew.

The curfew began at 10 p.m. Shortly thereafter, protesters could be seen throwing bottles at a line of police wearing riot gear. As the officers advanced, members of the media at the scene reported seeing smoke canisters and possibly tear gas fired at the crowd.

A small fire also began burning, though it seemed to have been short-lived.

Members of the press reported being hit by police projectiles.

Authorities ramped up their presence throughout Baltimore Tuesday as they prepared to enforce a 10 p.m. curfew.

In the lead-up to the curfew, which lasts until 5 a.m. Tuesday, crowds of demonstrators could be seen dispersing from previously crowded street.

Still, some groups refused to back away from rows of police officers and National Guard troops that had prepositioned themselves at key city buildings and gathering points.

Hillary Clinton spoke out about the unrest Tuesday, saying "Baltimore is burning," the AP reported.

Clinton made the comments during a New York City fundraiser for her presidential campaign. She went on to call the situation "heartbreaking."

"The tragic death of another young African-American man," Clinton said. "The injuries to police officers. The burning of people's homes and small businesses. We have to restore order and security. But then we have to take a hard look as to what we need to do to reform our system."

Clinton plans to speak further about Baltimore Wednesday at Columbia University, the AP reported.

Hundreds of demonstrators continued to march in Baltimore Tuesday just hours before a 10 p.m. curfew was set to take effect.

Officials throughout the day had warned residents to heed the weeklong curfew, which will take effect daily from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. as authorities try to maintain order.

Speaking to reporters at a news conference shortly after 7 p.m., Baltimore Police Capt. Eric Kowalczyk said breaking the curfew is a criminal offense.

"I want to be clear, curfew enforcement is about preserving public peace," Kowalczyk said.

He noted, however, that officers would have discretion in how they enforce the curfew so that people can get to work or if they need to get to a medical appointment, catch a flight, or report as members of the media.

"This is about discretion, so if you're sitting on a stoop and police officers come by, a lot of things can happen," said Kowalczyk when asked what would happen if someone was sitting outside during the curfew.

Some demonstrators chanted, "I love Baltimore, we want peace" as they marched along city streets. Some demonstrations continued to block some intersections into the evening.

Baltimore officials on Tuesday defended their initial response to the melee that broke out a day earlier and that quickly got out of control, prompting an emergency declaration as rioters burned cars and local businesses.

City officials have said the rioting began as a group of dozens of high schoolers gathered at a mall for a "purge" — a pop reference to a period of lawlessness.

Police had staged hundreds of officers nearby, but they were quickly overwhelmed, especially as the protesters turned violent and spread from neighborhood to neighborhood.

Asked by reporters throughout the day why the police response hadn't been more forceful, Baltimore Police Capt. Eric Kowalczyk and Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said that's not what the community would have wanted.

"When we deployed our officers yesterday, we were deploying for a high school event, and don't think there's anyone in the country that would expect us to deploy automatic weapons and armored vehicles to an event with 13-, 14- and 15-year-olds," Kowalczyk said. "That's not what people expect from their police department."

Kowalczyk also noted that the composition of the protesters changed as the night wore on, with older residents taking advantage of the situation to loot businesses and set cars ablaze.

Kowalczyk noted that the fast majority of the more than 230 who ended up getting arrested were comprised of adults.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts called Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake "courageous" for her response to the riots.

Batts said community leaders like Rawlings-Blake represent the true spirit of Baltimore, adding that the riots had affected his own rank-and-file.

"I've had officers come up to me and say, 'I was born and raised in this city. This makes me cry,'" he said.

Batts also asked Baltimore residents to "have a little patience" with officials as they start to enforce the overnight curfew. He said he understands that people are frustrated, but said the curfew was a necessary step to bring calm to the city.

He added that at least one protester shot at a police officer Monday night.

Batts said the officer, who he identified only as Brian, was hit in the head but doing well after being kept overnight.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said in a news briefing that Tuesday was a more peaceful day.

"We saw people coming together to reclaim our city," she said.

She added that Tuesday's events could be "our defining moment," not the destruction and violence that was seen on Monday.

Rawlings-Blake added that the damage done to local businesses in the riot will impact the city in a "major way."

She said that the city has invested to make sure small businesses can thrive, and it breaks her heart to see the damage that was done.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan's office detailed the number of law enforcement officers who will be out tonight:

* 500 National Guardsmen to support the operation, with a target of 2,000 troops activated to provide support by the end of the day; * More than 400 State Troopers and other allied law enforcement officers; * 300 law enforcement from Pennsylvania, 150 from New Jersey, and 45 from the District of Columbia; * 37 fire engines, eight truck companies, and two heavy rescue units from surrounding counties

Baltimore Police Capt. Eric Kowalczyk said that the peaceful protesters who are gathered represent "the Baltimore we are used to seeing."

The entire city is under a 10 p.m. curfew, and Kowalczyk said that the curfew will be enforced.

"This is about making sure that the city is safe," he said.

He added that people returning from work or seeking medical treatment will be allowed to travel.

Baltimore Police Capt. Eric Kowalczyk said there have been 235 arrests so far.

Of those arrested, 201 are adults and 34 are juveniles.

He added that there is currently a large crowd gathered but it is peaceful.

Kowalczyk said that the destruction that occurred was a result of people who chose to destroy their own communities.

Baltimore Police Capt. Eric Kowalczyk said in an afternoon press conference that officers from across the state and from Washington, D.C., have been deployed across the city.

He said at least 20 police officers have been injured and that number is likely higher.

He said he has heard some officers with minor injuries refused to go to the hospital to get treated.

"They wanted to stay with their fellow law enforcement officers to help protect the city of Baltimore," he said.

He said there were 144 structure fires and at least one person was in critical condition as a result of a fire.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's spokesperson told BuzzFeed News that Gov. Larry Hogan was "playing politics" by suggesting she didn't declare a state of emergency fast enough to quell the riots.

Hogan said in a news conference on Tuesday that his extra deployments of officers and the National Guard were prepared at 3 p.m. on Monday — and that the mayor's office didn't declare an emergency until 6 p.m.

When asked if there was anything he could do in that three-hour window, he said, "no."

"It was 30 seconds before we completely activated all the resources we had to bear," Hogan said.

Rawlings-Blake's spokesperson told BuzzFeed News that anybody suggesting the mayor took too long to declare an emergency is "playing politics in a moment of crisis and that is not beneficial to the people who saw businesses destroyed in Baltimore city or the folks whose communities were on fire as a result of senseless rioting."

"The mayor is a tested leader," he said. "She's been through situations like this before in a way the governor has not."

"Within hours of watching the scenes unfold, the mayor made the decision to bring in additional resources," he said, adding, "we are grateful to the governor for responding to our calls for additional resources. That call does not in any way suggest we should be playing politics with this moment."

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's spokesperson, Kevin Harris, told BuzzFeed News that the police didn't report any protester injuries or hospitalizations in last night's riots, which he said implies there were none.

At a joint news conference Tuesday, President Obama reiterated that the problem that came to a head in Baltimore has been occurring for a long time, but it's not just up to all stakeholders to make changes.

He pointed out that there are a lot of communities where jobs are scarce and drugs are rampant.

Obama added that the entire nation needs to help these communities and work together to give families more opportunities.

"If we are serious about solving this problem, we not only need to help the police, we need to think what can we do," he said.

Obama said his administration is going to try to find ways to make a difference.

"If our society really wanted to solve the problem, we could, but it would require everyone saying this is important," he said.

Obama said the problem is difficult to address on a federal level, as he doesn't run local police forces.

However, he said the Justice Department is working with local communities to make changes.

He said that police unions need to own up to the fact that "this is not good for police," and that there are some police who aren't doing the right thing.

There are police officials who have acknowledged the problem and are working to solve it, he said.

"We are committed to facilitating that process," he said.

Obama said since Michael Brown's death in Ferguson, there have been "too many" instances of police officers interacting with people, who are often black and poor, in ways that are troubling.

But, he said, this has been a problem for a long time.

"This is not new, and we should not pretend that it is new," he said.

He said the "good news" is that video of the instances and social media are shining light on the problem.

Obama spoke about the protests during a joint press conference with Japan's prime minister on Tuesday.

He said his thoughts are with Freddie Gray's family and the police officers who were injured.

"There's no excuse for the kind of violence we saw yesterday," he said. "It's counterproductive."

He said when people begin to loot buildings they aren't protesting, they are "stealing" and harming their own community.

"That is not a protest, that is not a statement — that is a handful of people taking advantage of the situation, and they need to be treated as criminals," he said.

Obama said that the violence is taking away from the "legitimate" peaceful protests.

The last time the National Guard was deployed in Baltimore was during the riots after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in 1968, officials told the AP.

Guard spokesman Lt. Charles Kohler says about 500 guardsmen are being deployed in Baltimore on Tuesday, and the force will build to about 2,000 though the day. He says that can build to 5,000, and officials also could call on Guard forces in neighboring states.

Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens canceled their planned draft party out of respect to the curfew, BuzzFeed News confirmed.

Hogan visited the neighborhoods worst impacted by the riots on Wednesday.

As the Baltimore Sun reported:

"This violence will not be tolerated," Hogan said. "We are going to bring in all the assets and all the support we need to make sure the citizens of Baltimore are safe and we bring peace to the city." ... The governor said that by Tuesday night there would be an "overwhelming display of people there on the streets protecting the citizens so what happened [Monday] night is not going to happen again."

He also seemed to question whether local authorities reacted in time to the protests, saying "A lot of this stuff took place before we were called in."

John Angelos, the the executive vice president of the Baltimore Orioles, issued this statement on Twitter on Saturday that is being shared widely on social media:

Speaking only for myself i agree with your point that the principle of peaceful, non-violent protest and the observance of the rule of law is of utmost importance in any society. MLK, Gandhi, Mandela, and all great opposition leaders throughout history have always preached this precept. Further, it is critical that in any democracy investigation must be completed and due process must be honored before any government or police members are judged responsible. That said, my greater source of personal concern, outrage and sympathy beyond this particular case is focused neither upon one night's property damage nor upon the acts group but is focused rather upon the past four-decade period during which an American political elite have shipped middle class and working class jobs away from Baltimore and cities and towns around the US to 3rd world dictatorships like China and others plunged tens of millions of good hard working americans into economic devastation and then followed that action around the nation by diminishing every American's civil rights protections in order to control an unfairly impoverished population living under an civil rights protections in order to control an unfairly impoverished population living under an ever-declining standard of living and suffering at the butt end of an ever-more militarized and aggressive surveillance state. The innocent working families of all backgrounds whose lives and dreams have been cut short by excessive violence, surveillance, and other abuses of the bill of rights by government pay the true price, an ultimate price, and one that far exceeds the importance of any kids' game played tonight, or ever, at Camden Yards. We need to keep in mind people are suffering and dying around the US and while we are thankful no one was injured at Camden Yards, there is a far bigger picture for poor Americans in Baltimore and everywhere who don't have jobs and are losing economic civil and legal rights and this is makes inconvenience at a ball game irrelevant in light of the needless suffering government is inflicting upon ordinary Americans.

Al Sharpton will meet with Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake today.

National Action Network's Baltimore chapter and local clergy will also attend the 3:15 meeting at City Hall.

NAACP President Cornell William Brooks released a statement saying violent riots will not bring comfort to Freddie Gray's family.

He called for peaceful demonstrations saying that protests do not need to be violent to be powerful.

Read the full statement below:

On Monday, over 20 NAACP family, including our national board chairman, Roslyn M. Brock, attended the funeral service for Freddie Gray. The family, community and the NAACP are mourning. The city of Baltimore now burns in the flames of violence that may leave more dead. The loss of more lives will neither comfort Mr. Gray's family nor explain the incidents that led to his death. The NAACP stands in solidarity with Baltimore residents and those from across the state who have assembled peacefully to demand justice for the tragic and senseless death of Freddie Gray. Our thoughts and prayers also remain with the family and friends of Mr. Gray, from whom he was taken too soon. As we invoke the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Medgar Evers and so many others great practitioners of democracy, we understand that protests don't need to be violent to be powerful. Looting and violence do not represent flowers or a sympathy card to the grieving family of Freddie Gray. Please join the NAACP in being both angry over injustice and nonviolent in seeking justice. Join the NAACP in doing the day to day work to bring about an end to racial profiling, police brutality and senseless violence across the country and in Baltimore. We must continue to manifest our moral outrage into peaceful protests that seek to garner meaningful change. Since the inception of our country, the right of the masses to peacefully assemble has shaped who we are as a nation, just as it will shape who we can become.

CNN, citing the mayor's office, is reporting there were "nearly 200 arrests, 144 vehicle fires, 15 structure fires" during the riots.

The last time major violent riots broke out in Baltimore was after the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., city officials said.

"We cannot go back to 1968 where we burned down our own infrastructure and our own neighborhoods," City Council President Jack Young said Monday.

"We still have scars from 1968 where we had some burnt out building and businesses did not want to come back to the city of Baltimore."

Sparked by King's April 4, 1968, assassination, Baltimore erupted in massive riots over four days with crowds filling the streets, looting, and lighting fires. Six people died in the protests and more than 700 were injured, according to Baltimore Magazine. Approximately 5,500 people were arrested and damages reached an estimated $13.5 million — nearly $79 million on today's dollar.

By the second day of protests, 5,000 National Guardsmen, 400 state troopers, and 1,200 city police officers were on the streets of Baltimore.

Protests erupted in Oakland in 2010 after a transit officer was convicted of manslaughter and received the minimum two-year prison sentence for killing Grant.

Batts told Oakland North that he was motivated to take the Oakland Chief of Police job after four police were killed by a convicted felon in 2009. He also said he wanted to help fix the "disconnect" between the police department and the community. Previously, he served 27 years on the Long Beach Police Department, rising to chief in 2002.

Batts completed only two years of his three-year contract in Oakland. Budgets were cut, and at the time he left, he had 150 fewer officers than the 796 when he started, according to the Los Angeles Times. He told the Oakland North he was very committed while he was there but cited frustration with the city's bureaucracy as a reason for leaving.

"In Oakland, the police department is seen as a necessary evil and the government spanks the police department because it's the bad child," he told Oakland North.

He added that when he joined the Oakland police department in 2010, then-Mayor Ron Dellums wasn't supportive of law enforcement.

"I don't know if any chief could have been successful in Oakland at that time," Long Beach Police Officers Association President Steve James told the Los Angeles Times. "The one thing about Tony is he's going to do what he thinks is right. He's never been a puppet to politicians."

A full list of school closures can be found on the website of CBS's Baltimore affiliate.