WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has asked the US Department of Justice on Wednesday to launch an investigation into the city’s police department to determine whether the agency is engaged in discriminatory policing.
"In order to achieve the kind of sustainable and significant reform that we want to see, that I want to see, that the citizens want to see in Baltimore, I am requesting the Department of Justice conduct a federal pattern or practice investigation into the Baltimore city police department,” the mayor announced during a press conference on Wednesday.
Violent riots erupted in Baltimore last Monday following the funeral of 25-year-old Gray, who died of spinal injuries after he was held in police custody. Rioters looted stores, injured police officers, destroyed buildings and set cars on fire.
