Baltimore police department gives prosecutors Freddie Gray report

BALTIMORE - Baltimore police on Thursday turned over to prosecutors the findings of the department's investigation of the death of Freddie Gray - a much-anticipated, if incremental, development that did not seem to alter the mood of the city, which in recent days has been gripped by unrest.

Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said at a news conference that his department provided the report a day before his self-imposed deadline because he understood residents' anger over the 25-year-old's death and their eagerness to learn more about what caused it. Still, he and a department spokesman declined to provide many details about what investigators uncovered.

"I understand the frustration. I understand the sense of urgency ... and that is why we have finished it a day ahead of time," Batts said. "I also know that getting to the right answer is more important than the speed."

Some residents had feared that the turning-over of the report to prosecutors might spark more violence in the city, where on Monday cars were torched, stores looted, and rocks and bottles thrown at police. But with National Guard soldiers still patrolling the streets, and a 10 p.m. curfew still in effect Thursday, Baltimore remained calm.

Just before 5 p.m. Thursday, about 500 people - some carrying signs or wearing shirts that read "I bleed Baltimore" or "I (heart) being black" - marched in the streets, chanting and raising their fists in the air. They soon met up with another group, and together they moved peaceably toward City Hall.

Police said that more demonstrations were planned for Friday and beyond and that they intended to maintain a large presence of law-enforcement officers.

"Although we've had two days of peace and quiet, we still have a weekend to make it through," Batts said.

Also Thursday, the national response team from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives began investigating the site of a three-alarm fire Monday night that destroyed a senior center being built next to a church in East Baltimore.

The blaze at the Mary Harkins Senior Center on North Chester Street is one of seven fires the ATF team is investigating as possible arsons, said Special Agent David Cheplak, an ATF spokesman, who added that a reward of up to $10,000 was being offered in the cases. The others include fires at two CVS pharmacies and a Rite Aid.

Police did release one new detail Thursday: Investigators said they discovered that the van that transported Gray on April 12 made four stops after he was arrested, but before he was taken to a police station.

That is one additional stop than had been reported, although what happened during it and why it was made remained unclear.

Some groups, including CASA de Maryland and members of the Baltimore United for Change coalition, criticized authorities for not being transparent enough.

"It seems impossible for them not to release something," said Kim Propeack, director of CASA in Action, the political arm of the immigrant-advocacy organization. "The public has a right to know the details of the investigation."