RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
And that new information Jeff spoke of now goes on to the Baltimore state's attorney. NPR's Martin Kaste reports on what happens now.
MARTIN KASTE, BYLINE: The Freddie Gray case is now in the hands of prosecutors. And when someone dies in police custody or from injuries suffered in custody, prosecutors are often faced with this question.
JOE KEY: Gross negligence or intent?
KASTE: Joe Key is a retired Baltimore police lieutenant who's worked on investigations of other officers. Now he's a consultant who's been an expert witness on similar cases involving people injured or killed in custody.
KEY: If an officer's actions are so grossly negligent that a reasonable person would believe that it would lead to the person's death, then that would be the standard to prove involuntary manslaughter.
KASTE: Police officials in Baltimore have already said that Freddie Gray was not buckled up in the van. That violates department policy. And it might be evidence of gross negligence, depending on other circumstances.
KEY: If, however, the officer that's driving the wagon - and I'm - again, hypothetically, slams on the brake on purpose; the guy's banging around in the back of it; the wagon driver gets tired of hearing it - and this is sheer speculation - and he slams on the brake, they might be able to bring that to the level of a second-degree murder charge.
KASTE: But proving intent for that second-degree murder charge can be difficult. It often requires testimony from other officers. Lou Reiter is one of the country's top trainers of police internal affairs investigators. And he says in his experience, it's hard to get one cop to testify against another.
LOU REITER: I'll be honest with you, there's not many departments where that officer would not face retaliation.
KASTE: If prosecutors can't make a criminal case, there's still the possibility of administrative punishment for violation of department policies. That's what internal affairs investigators do. Baltimore's investigators have often been accused of being too lenient. So last year, the department hired attorney Karen Kruger to audit its Internal Affairs Division.
KAREN KRUGER: There are some very competent detectives who are doing investigations. But they are overworked. Some of the detectives are actually assigned to other duties sometimes, which distract them from the internal investigation.
KASTE: That's unusual for a big-city police department, that the internal affairs investigators also do regular police work. Kruger thinks it risks making things a little too familiar.
KRUGER: You might be standing on the corner with the guy that, you know, tomorrow you'll be investigating.
KASTE: But internal affairs could well be where this case ends up if prosecutors decide not to bring criminal charges and barring some action by the Justice Department, which has also opened its own investigation. Martin Kaste, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
