[JURIST] US Attorney General Loretta Lynch [official website] on Friday announced [press release] the launch of a federal civil rights investigation into Baltimore’s police. Authorities, Lynch said [AP report], would look for discriminating practices by police and begin to review allegations of unlawful searches, seizures and arrests as well as excessive force, and they would seek a court enforceable agreement to address any unconstitutional policies or practices found. The investigation is set to build upon a review of the Baltimore police that began last year, which the government conducted voluntarily and collaboratively. The Justice Department [official website] in conducting its investigation will consider all relevant information, though special attention will be paid to both the efforts undertaken by the Baltimore Police Department to comply with federal law and the views and experiences of the community. The announcement follows days of rioting in response to the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, which Lynch said showed a “serious erosion of public trust.” This investigation is separate from the department’s criminal civil rights investigation related to Gray’s death and will be conducted by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

Racial tension has recently mounted in the US following several police killings of unarmed black men. Last week the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City charged six police officers [JURIST report] with crimes including murder and manslaughter over the death of Baltimore resident Freddie Gray while he was in police custody. Earlier this year Judge Edgar Dickson of the South Carolina Circuit Court declared a mistrial [JURIST report] in the murder case against a former police chief for the 2011 killing of an unarmed black man. After a grand jury decided not to indict [JURIST report] the Ferguson, Missouri, police officer who last year shot and killed Micheal Brown [USA Today Timeline], an African American teenager, there was a large uproar from the Ferguson community that led to mass protests and violence in some instances. The case had reached international news with AI reporting [JURIST report] human rights abuses by Ferguson Police in late October. In early October a federal judge ruled [JURIST report] that the police tactics used on protesters was unconstitutional and issued a preliminary injunction. The American Civil Liberties Union [advocacy website] also published a report [JURIST report] arguing that increased militarization of police forces is putting citizens at risk rather than protecting them.