Baltimore Mayor Asks Justice Department to Investigate Police Bias

The mayor of Baltimore, Maryland asked the Department of Justice this week to investigate whether the city's police department has engaged in biased law enforcement.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's request comes after residents of Baltimore took to the streets in recent weeks to protest the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, who died of a spinal cord injury after his arrest in late April. Six police officers have been criminally charged for their involvement in Gray's death.

As USA Today reports, Rawlings-Blake's call for a justice department investigation of the local police department comes shortly after she met with the new U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to address the "fractured'' trust between the local police department and the Baltimore community.

"We have to make sure we get this right,'' the mayor said. "Failure is not an option.''

"We all know that Baltimore continues to have a fractured relationship between the police and the community," Rawlings-Blake said at a news conference following the protests and the lifting of a week-long, city-wide curfew.

"We have to have a foundation of trust," she said, "and I believe that we need the assistance of the Department of Justice and the civil rights investigation to shore up that foundation, which is weak right now in this city."

Department of Justice spokeswoman Dena Iverson confirmed to CNN that the department had received Rawlings-Blake's request for an investigation.

"The attorney general is actively considering that option in light of what she heard from law enforcement, city officials, and community, faith and youth leaders in Baltimore," Iverson said in a statement.