WASHINGTON
The Justice Department will investigate possible discriminatory practices by the Baltimore Police Department, the newly appointed U.S. attorney general said Friday.
Loretta Lynch’s decision came just two days after Baltimore’s mayor asked federal investigators to probe if city police have engaged in patterns of excessive force or discrimination against the black community.
The federal probe will try to determine “whether the Baltimore Police Department has engaged in a pattern or practice of violations of the Constitution or federal law," said Lynch.
It will also examine if police officers used excessive force during protests that were sparked in the wake of the death of 25-year-old black male Freddie Gray who suffered a fatal spinal injury while in police custody last month.
"Our goal is to work with the community, public officials and law enforcement alike to create a stronger, better Baltimore," said Lynch during a news conference.
According to local media, nearly 500 arrests were made during the protests, and more than a fifth of those were detained for as long as 48 hours.
Police often used pepper spray against peaceful protesters.
Gray’s death sparked days of unrest in Maryland’s largest city and its top prosecutor charged six police officers involved in Gray’s arrest and subsequent death.
The Justice Department launched a similar investigation in Ferguson, Missouri, following the fatal shooting last summer of unarmed black teen Michel Brown by a white police officer.
That probe found a pattern of systemic discrimination against blacks by the police department and the court system.
