Gloria Darden, in sunglasses, mother of Freddie Gray, is comforted by supporters during a protest march outside of the Baltimore Police Department's Western District police station, Tuesday, April 21, 2015.(Photo: Patrick Semansky, AP)
More protests were planned Wednesday in Baltimore as supporters of Freddie Gray pressed their demand for justice -- and an explanation of how and why he died while in police custody.
Police have been vague on why Gray, 25, was arrested. Officer Garrett Miller wrote in a police report that Gray was stopped after fleeing "unprovoked upon noticing police presence." Miller said a knife was found clipped to Gray's pants pocket and he was taken into custody.
William Murphy, lawyer for the Gray family, says the knife was legal and police probably had no right to pursue and detain Gray.
"The last I heard, a black man running is not a crime," Murphy told CNN on Wednesday. "His mistake was not running fast enough. ... It looks very much like this was arrest without probably cause."
The case is the latest of several across the nation in recent months to spark outcry and protest for perceived heavy-handed police treatment of minorities. Bystanders with cellphones recorded Gray, who is black, screaming in pain as officers dragged him to a police van, but did not record the actual arrest. And it is not clear what happened to Gray in the van.
"During transport to Western District via wagon transport the defendant suffered a medical emergency and was immediately transported to Shock Trauma via medic," MIller wrote in his report.
The U.S. Justice Department said it was reviewing the arrest.
"Based on preliminary information, (Justice) has officially opened this matter and is gathering information to determine whether any prosecutable civil rights violation occurred," the department said in the statement.
A protest was set for later Wednesday in front of the Western District police station where Gray was taken after his arrest. A rally at City Hall was planned for Thursday.
Tuesday night, hundreds of protesters outside the station chanted "All night! All day! We're gonna fight for Freddie Gray!" They filled a city block while police on horseback monitored the scene.
A crowd outside the Western District Police Station included 53-year-old Pricilla Jackson, carrying a sign reading, "Convict Freddie's killers."
Six Baltimore officers have been suspended pending the outcome of the local investigation. Police reports filed earlier this week indicated that Gray, whose spinal cord was nearly severed in his neck while in custody, had been arrested "without force or incident.''
Rodriguez said the officers involved have been suspended and that an autopsy showed Gray suffered a spinal injury that led to his death. He said the autopsy showed no other body injuries.
"What we do not know, and need to get there, is how he suffered that injury,'' Rodriguez said.
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