Officers won’t face federal charges in Freddie Gray case

The U.S. Department of Justice will not charge six Baltimore police officers implicated in the death of Freddie Gray, the young African-American man who died in police custody in 2015. The government’s decision means none of the officers will face a criminal conviction in Gray’s death. State prosecutors charged all six officers, but juries acquitted three of them. The state dropped the charges in the other three cases. Gray died after breaking his neck in the back of a police transport van, where he was shackled but not restrained in a seat belt. His death triggered weeks of protests and prompted a Justice Department investigation into policing tactics and allegations of unlawful arrests. Investigators found widespread patterns of abuse and misconduct. City officials agreed in January to a court-enforced reform plan for the police department. Five of the six officers still face internal disciplinary hearings, scheduled to begin late next month.