Gray Attorneys Accept DOJ Decision, But Claim Police Sabotaged Local Investigation

The attorneys for Freddie Gray's family said they accept the decision of the Department of Justice not to pursue civil rights charges against Baltimore officers linked to Gray's death, while also making allegations that police sabotaged local prosecutors.

"We were prepared to believe given the views espoused by our attorney general, and I'll leave it at that, that this had been nothing more than... whitewash or a political decision, but we have to admit that we left satisfied with the investigation undertaken by this particular group of lawyers at the Department of Justice," Hassan Murphy said. "They were frank and forthright about the things they had done and the steps they had taken in this investigation."

Gray's family did not attend the press conference, but said through their attorneys that they were disgusted with the outcome.

The lawyers Hassan Murphy and father Billy Murphy met with, he said, were largely Obama administration holdovers.

"It is the end of a chapter and it is a sad and tragic chapter that has left a trail, both in this city and in this country, of hurt feelings, anger and disgust, and it is unfortunate that it has ended without anyone being held accountable for Freddie's death," he said.

Despite being satisfied with the Baltimore team of DOJ investigators, the Justice Department has a poor track record when it comes to prosecuting law enforcement for civil rights violations.

According to an investigation by TribLive.com in Pittsburgh, federal prosecutors have declined to pursue civil rights allegations against law enforcement officers 96 percent of the time since 1995.

Federal officials also declined to prosecute in the police in-custody death of Michael Brown, and they declined prosecution in the police-involved shooting of Alton Sterling.

After a jury acquitted Officer Michael Slager in the shooting death of Walter Scott, federal officials charged the officer with a civil rights violation.

Federal officials are still looking into the police in-custody death of Eric Garner.

The DOJ reasons for not pursuing civil rights allegations in Gray's death is cited by TribLive.com as the most common in the 96 percent of the cases they decline prosecution: insufficient evidence and lack of criminal intent.

Some express concern about Attorney General Jeff Sessions making it clear earlier this year that he wanted the DOJ to pull back on these types of investigations.

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh pointed out that the officers in the Gray case still face internal discipline.

"We do have a process with the Police Department as it relates to trial boards, so we will wait to see what happens with that process as well," Pugh said.

The elder Murphy hailed the "courage" of State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, saying she "did her very best to accomplish the goal of holding one or more of the police officers accountable." Two officers were acquitted in bench trials, and charges were dropped against the other four. However, he noted, jurors were close to conviction on one officer whose trial ended in a mistrial after the jury deadlocked.

He said Mosby's uphill battle was made more difficult by sabotage carried out by officers.

"In the future, hopefully before the next election, you will see the extent to which the police officers of Baltimore City deliberately obstructed this investigation," he said, adding that one of the officers "had rank."

While he said he's seen documents proving his claims, he wasn't sure precisely when they would be made public and didn't say why he wouldn't go into detail about the sabotage claims.

Gray's 2015 death sparked days of protests and unrest in Baltimore.

WBAL-TV 11 reporter David Collins contributed to this report.