The six Baltimore police officers involved in the 2015 death of Freddie Gray will not be held criminally responsible, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
Gray, a 25-year-old black man, died after suffering a broken neck in the back of a police van in April 2015. Although he had been handcuffed and shackled, the officers failed to restrain Gray with a seat belt.
Gray’s death led to a storm of protests and unrest in the city that lasted for several weeks.
In a statement explaining its decision not to pursue federal civil rights charges against the officers, the Justice Department said that while Gray’s death was “undeniably tragic,” federal prosecutors couldn’t find enough evidence to prove the officers willfully violated his civil rights.
Five of the officers — Lt. Brian Rice, Sgt. Alicia White and officers Caesar Goodson, Edward Nero and Garrett Miller — face internal disciplinary hearings scheduled to begin Oct. 30. The sixth officer, William Porter, was not charged administratively.
