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Local broadcaster WJZ-TV said family members of the man, who
the footage it published showed was black, had identified him as
27-year-old Freddie Gray. He was in an induced coma with spinal
injuries, it said.
Use of force by U.S. police, particularly against minorities,
has come under increased scrutiny following police killings of
black men in Ferguson, Missouri, New York City and North
Charleston, South Carolina that have sparked nationwide
protests.
The Baltimore incident occurred on Sunday morning.
"A number of officers made an arrest of a man who fled from
them," Baltimore Police Deputy Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez told
a news conference on Monday.
"This is a very serious incident, that we are looking at
thoroughly. I have been on the phone with the State's Attorney's
Office and we are going to work jointly on this investigation."
Rodriguez did not name the man, who he said was in hospital, or
explain why the officers stopped him.
The officers involved had been transferred to administrative
duties, Rodriguez said.
He said he did not see any use of force in the video, but added
that it did not show the entire incident and that the
investigation was at an early stage.
(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; editing by John
Stonestreet)
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