Attorney General Loretta Lynch Meets with Freddie Gray Family
Attorney General Loretta Lynch Meets with Freddie Gray Family
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Attorney General Loretta Lynch speaks with congressmen and faith leaders after meeting in private with Freddie Gray's family at Baltimore University in Baltimore, MD. on May 5, 2015.Jose Luis Magana—Reuters
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch made a stop in Baltimore Tuesday, as tensions have begun to cool following a week of unrest and uncertainty.
Lynch, who is one week into her new role as the nation’s top prosecutor, met with community and faith leaders and politicians just days after the Baltimore City prosecutor announced charges against six Baltimore police officers in Freddie Gray’s death. Sens. Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski and Rep. Elijah Cummings were reportedly in the room.
“This is a flashpoint situation,” Lynch said at the meeting. “We lost a young man’s [life] and it begins to represent so many things.”
Go Behind TIME's Baltimore Protest Cover With Aspiring Photographer Devin Allen
Protestor at city hall In Baltimore on April 25, 2015.Devin AllenProtestor lead a march in Baltimore on April 25, 2015.Devin AllenProtestors clash with police In Baltimore on April 25, 2015.Devin AllenA police officer stands guard during protests in Baltimore on April 26, 2015.Devin AllenPolice clash with protesters in Baltimore on April 25, 2015.Devin AllenAn Orioles' fan is attacked by rioters in Baltimore on April 25, 2015.Devin AllenA police car is destroyed during a riot in Baltimore on April 25, 2015.Devin AllenA young boy outside of a closed off street in Baltimore on April 28, 2015Devin AllenProtestors at a peacful rally in Baltimore on April 23, 2015.Devin AllenResidents of clean up the streets of Baltimore on April 28, 2015.Devin AllenNeighborhood residents create a peace circle, near North ave and Fulton in Baltimore on April 28, 2015.Devin Allen
The death of 25-year-old Gray, who died due to injuries he sustained while in police custody, was the match that lit the proverbial flame in Charm City, leading to days of protest that at one point turned violent. Lynch met with the family of Gray around noon on Tuesday. The meeting was closed off to press. Later in the afternoon, Lynch is expected to meet with Baltimore police and the mayor.
The new Attorney General is following in the footsteps of the now-retired Eric Holder in her visit to a city where a young black man’s death shined new light on mistrust between the community and police. Following the death of Michael Brown in Missouri, Holder traveled to Ferguson to meet with local leaders.
Baltimore Protests, Then and Now
A man is carried away by police during riots in Baltimore, 1968. Afro American Newspaper/Gado/Getty ImagesBaltimore Police officers arrest a man following the funeral of Freddie Gray near Mowdamin Mall in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Drew Angerer—Getty ImagesStudents demonstrate during a Black Power event at Morgan State University in Baltimore on April 6, 1968.Afro American Newspaper/Gado/Getty ImagesProtestors participate in a vigil for Freddie Gray down the street from the Baltimore Police Department's Western District police station in Baltimore on April 21, 2015.Drew Angerer—Getty ImagesNational Guardsmen seal off a business-residential section of Baltimore and prepare to use tear gas against looters on April 8, 1968.Baltimore News-American/APBaltimore Police form a perimeter around a CVS pharmacy that was looted and burned in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Chip Somodevilla—Getty ImagesSmoke billows from a liquor store which was looted during the third day of violence, which saw over 400 fires, in Baltimore on April 8, 1968. Baltimore News-American/APFire fighters respond to a fire at a CVS pharmacy in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.Sait Serkan Gurbuz—ReutersBaltimore City police pin down a curfew breaker in Baltimore on April 9, 1968.APLaw enforcement officers detain a demonstrator on Gilmore Avenue near Baltimore Police Department Western District during a protest against the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore on April 25, 2015. Sait Serkan Gurbuz—Reuters
