Baltimore curfew to be enforced through weekend
Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said Thursday evening that officials are happy with the city's behavior during the last two days. Despite this, he said the curfew will continue to be enforced through the weekend.
"For myself and the mayor and also the governor, we're extremely pleased and happy and applaud the citizens and residents of the city of Baltimore and their activities," said Batts. "They are coming out, showing what Baltimore is really all about, which is helping each other, standing strong and the grit that this city is really made of."
Batts is asking the city for patience on the lifting of the 10 p.m. curfew citing two large marches that are planned for the weekend.
The prosecutor who is handling the case of Freddie Gray is asking the public to remain patient and peaceful as she conducts an investigation.
State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby said in a statement Thursday that she has received the investigative file from police, and her office has also been conducting its own independent investigation.
Mosby will decide whether any charges are warranted for six officers who were involved in the arrest and transport of Gray. The officers have been suspended with pay.
THIRD NIGHT OF CURFEW
Curfew went into effect for a third night and a group of protesters remained at the intersection of North Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue after 10 p.m. passed. One man was taken into police custody after having a confrontation with a reporter, FOX 5's Marina Marraco said.
ATF OFFERS $10,000 REWARD
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is offering a reward for information and video that leads to the arrest of people responsible for the fires set during the riots on Monday. Authorities say the Mary Harkins Senior Center on North Chester Street, the CVS store on Pennsylvania Avenue and West Franklin Street and the Rite Aid store on North Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard were all damaged by fires there were intentionally set.
Anyone with information is asked to call 1-888-ATF-FIRE (1-888-283-3473).
GOVERNOR: NO STAND DOWN ORDER
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan toured the city Thursday as he met with residents trying to ensure safety for everyone.
Hogan also addressed the speculation that Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake ordered police to stand down as the violence broke out on Monday.
"There was no stand down order at all," he said. I don't want to Monday morning quarterback and talk about what happened Monday. What we're talking about now is how to keep the neighborhood safe now.
"I think the city police did an incredible job. Look, it was a situation that caught a lot of people off guard. I've already praised the mayor and Commissioner Batts here in the city. I went and visited the many injured police officers in shock trauma here on Monday night. I can tell you they were doing everything they could to keep the city safe. They were overwhelmed, and when they needed help, we came in immediately."
CARMELO MARCHES WITH PROTESTERS
Baltimore native Carmelo Anthony was back home among the hundreds of protesters marching through the streets Thursday afternoon. The NBA star told FOX 5's Marina Marraco that the riots were disturbing, but understood the frustrations of the community.
"Our community is fed up," Anthony said. "But we got to be smart about it. If we want something, we got to speak up. I think that the biggest problem in our community is our youth is not being heard. They feel like they don't have a voice."
WILL PRESIDENT OBAMA VISIT BALTIMORE?
White House Press Secretary weighed in on the unrest in Baltimore and addressed whether President Barack Obama will make a visit to the city.
"The concern that he has right now is a very practical one," said Earnest. "It's simply that right now, we are seeing that significant law enforcement resources in Baltimore are being deployed to try to address some of the instability we've seen in that community over the last few days, and the fact is that when the president travels anywhere, law enforcement resources are dedicated to protecting him, directing traffic around his motorcade that can sometimes be pretty inconvenient, and the president's concern is about drawing resources away from the urgent priority they have right now to allow him to travel somewhere."
RAVENS VISIT BALTIMORE SCHOOLS
Former Baltimore Ravens star linebacker Ray Lewis joined head coach John Harbaugh and other Ravens players at two schools in Baltimore to help ease tension in the city.
"This isn't just Baltimore," Lewis said. "This is not a Baltimore problem. It's a world problem. You know, if you go across the world and look at what's happening across the world, it's crazy across the world."
Lewis was supposed to be in Chicago on Thursday for the NFL Draft working as an analyst for ESPN, but he elected to stay in Baltimore to help out after the recent riots and protests.
POLICE TURN OVER FINDINGS
Baltimore police turned over their findings to prosecutors -- one day earlier than the department's self-imposed deadline, the commissioner said Thursday morning.
In his announcement at a news conference, Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts did not give details of the report or take questions. He said the department dedicated more than 30 detectives to working on the case and report. Batts also said police would continue to work on the case at the direction of the state's attorney.
RELEASED WITHOUT CHARGES
Baltimore police say more than half of the people detained during Monday's riots have been released without charges.
Capt. Eric Kowalczyk says 201 people were arrested during the riots and 106 of them were subsequently released after 48 hours because specific charges couldn't be filed. He says police are reviewing surveillance footage and expect to charge many of those people once their identities have been confirmed.
Meanwhile, police said 98 officers have been injured since Monday. More than 40 of them required treatment at the hospital.
POLICE: NEW VAN STOP DISCOVERED
At a news conference Thursday morning, Deputy Commissioner Kevin Davis reviewed the timeline of Gray's time in custody and his death. Gray was arrested after he made eye contact with officers and ran. After a chase, officers pinned him down and handcuffed him. They loaded him into a van and put leg cuffs on him when officers said he became "irate" in the wagon.
Davis said Thursday that police discovered a new stop the van made with Gray in it, but they did not say what happened.
Gray was eventually taken to a hospital. He died a week later.
MAYOR'S EMOTIONAL SPEECH
The Rev. Al Sharpton and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake are leading a summit on improving relations between police and the community after the death of a black man who was in police custody.
The meeting is being held at New Shiloh Baptist Church, where the funeral for Freddie Gray was held Monday.
"If, with the nation watching, three black women at three different levels can't get justice and healing for this community, you tell me where we're going to get it in our country," Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said Thursday, referring to herself, the prosecutor investigating the case and newly sworn in Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
Lynch oversees the Justice Department, which is also investigating Gray's death.
The mayor says she tried to reform the police department even before Gray's death and the agency has made improvements, lowering the number of police shootings and excessive force complaints.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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