WASHINGTON — Attorney General Loretta Lynch has decided to launch a federal investigation into whether the Baltimore Police Department has engaged in a “pattern or practice” of excessive force.
Lynch’s announcement about the Justice Department’s probe — the latest in a string of municipalities that are being investigated by the federal government for civil rights violations — could come as early as Friday, according to two law enforcement officials.
A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment Thursday night.
Lynch hinted Thursday that a decision could come soon, when she testified during her first hearing on Capitol Hill as attorney general. She said that she would decide “in the coming days” whether to have the department’s civil rights division open an investigation into the Baltimore police force.
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake on Wednesday called on the Justice Department to open a federal investigation. Rawlings-Blake made the request after State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby filed criminal charges against six Baltimore officers who were involved in the arrest of Freddie Gray, who died of injuries suffered while he was in police custody.
Mosby said Gray was arrested illegally, was treated callously by the officers and suffered a severe spinal injury April 12 in a police van while his pleas for help were ignored.
Gray’s death April 19 ignited protests and rioting and is the latest case to spark anger about law enforcement tactics in low-income neighborhoods across the country.
Lynch visited Baltimore on Tuesday and met with the mayor, law enforcement officials and community leaders. She also met with Gray’s family and spoke with an officer who was injured in the violence.
