Six Baltimore police officers cleared of criminal charges in Freddie Gray's arrest and death will be investigated by Montgomery County police, who are leading the internal affairs reviews that could determine whether the officers can return to policing city streets.
Officers from the Washington suburb — with help from Howard County police — are interviewing Baltimore police officers and witnesses and examining city policies to determine whether Lt. Brian Rice and Officers Caesar Goodson Jr. and Edward Nero broke department rules during Gray's arrest and transport. Similar reviews are expected to begin for Officer Garrett Miller, Officer William Porter and Sgt. Alicia White after prosecutors dropped charges against the officers Wednesday.
Gray, a 25-year-old black man, died a week after suffering severe spinal injuries in the back of a police van in April 2015.
While it is rare for outside agencies to investigate officers, Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said the city asked the other departments a few months ago to lead the internal affairs reviews to assure the public of fairness and objectivity in the high-profile case.
"I know how important it is to the community to have faith and trust in the internal disciplinary system of the Police Department," Davis said in an interview. "To have a relationship built on trust in the community stems largely — not exclusively, but largely — on the timeliness and thoroughness of our internal investigations."
As public attention shifts from the courtroom — a Baltimore judge acquitted the three officers who went to trial — some have expressed skepticism about the authenticity of the internal affairs reviews.
The process, largely shielded from public view, can stretch hundreds of days before it is determined whether officers are exonerated or face reprimands or firings in the wake of misconduct allegations.
After the acquittals of the three officers, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake urged the public to "allow the entire process to come to a conclusion." The city has been on edge since Gray's death, which sparked rioting, looting and arson on the day of his funeral. While security has been tightened at the courthouse, protests of the verdicts have been peaceful and have led to few arrests.
In most cases, the allegations are not sustained and officers are not disciplined after departmental review, according to a Baltimore Sun review of data from police agencies across the state.
Nearly nine out of 10 internal investigations by Montgomery County police do not result in officers being reprimanded or fired. The rate at which officers face discipline is roughly the same nationally and slightly higher in Baltimore.
"Police don't appear capable of policing themselves," said Lester Spence, an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins University who studies race and urban politics. "Based on the day-to-day experiences of working-class black men, we'd expect the police to have a far higher rate of wrongdoing than internal affairs finds."
Police say privacy laws prohibit them from releasing the results of an officer's internal affairs review to the public. It is unclear what information will be publicly available after officers in the Gray case are investigated.
The internal affairs investigation into Gray's death was initiated automatically. Most administrative reviews are triggered by complaints made by the public or fellow officers.
In those cases, the General Assembly passed legislation this year that cleared the way for those who make the complaints to receive letters explaining more about the outcome of the cases.
Starting from scratch
Chief Rodney Hill, who runs the city's internal affairs division, said Baltimore police have turned over evidence to Montgomery and Howard police, but those agencies will be collecting more evidence and interviewing witnesses.
"They're doing everything from scratch," Hill said. "We've given them full copies of the casebook — it's an extremely large casebook."
The outside agencies will determine whether the officers broke policy. Davis would then decide whether to fire or otherwise discipline them.
"The discipline is not up to Montgomery or Howard counties, it's up to me," the commissioner said.
If Davis decides to discipline the officers, they could request a police trial board — a tribunal of fellow officers who would reconsider the discipline.
Davis said every city officer who responded to or witnessed the Gray incident will be compelled to cooperate with the Montgomery and Howard investigation.
None of the administrative reviews will be concluded until all of the trials are over. The cases are interconnected, and officers can only be compelled to participate in an internal affairs interview after the conclusion of their criminal cases.
"They could say something that could impact all of the other officers," Davis said.