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Melvin T. Russell, the retired chief of the Baltimore Police Community Division, said he remembers the lack of empathy among police commanders in the wake of Freddie Gray鈥檚 death after an arrest 10 years ago.
That鈥檚 when he knew 鈥渙ur city was really in trouble.鈥�
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 see any remorse, there was no real concern within the department,鈥� Russell said. 鈥淭he concern didn鈥檛 come until finally there were the protests on a level that I had not seen in all my years in law enforcement.鈥�
Russell鈥檚 comments came during a recent symposium to mark the 10th anniversary of Gray鈥檚 death in police custody, an incident that sparked protests followed by days of unrest, criminal charges and a reckoning for the city and its police department.
How much things have changed in the intervening 10 years depends on who is answering the question.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott points to the statistics to buttress his argument that relations between the police and citizens have improved over the past decade.
鈥淲hen you think about having 2.400-plus [civilian] complaints [in 2015] and now it鈥檚 down to 800, and 12 police-involved shootings now down to four,鈥� Scott said.
鈥淭he clearance rate of homicides is also up, because people are talking to the police more,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut we still have a long way to go.鈥�
Dayvon Love, director of public policy for the group Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, agrees that some progress has been made in police reform, but also that there are still shortcomings.
鈥淧olice investigatory records are now accessible to the public, there鈥檚 a change in use-of-force standard, so there are a bunch of things that have shifted the levers that the community has access to, including the police accountability boards,鈥� Love said. 鈥淏ut I think the culture of the police department has not changed.鈥�
Marvin 鈥淒oc鈥� Cheatham vividly remembers the Sunday morning 10 years ago,
April 12, 2015, when his friend Freddie Gray was arrested in West Baltimore after a foot chase with police officers.
鈥淵ou could hear him scream, and you can tell the difference between someone acting and someone actually in pain. He was actually in pain,鈥� said Cheatham, president of the Matthew Henson Community Development Corp.
Cheatham describes Gray as 鈥渁 jovial guy, but you knew he was up to something mischievous. He ran through the neighborhood selling drugs but was not a major drug dealer.鈥�
Gray, who was 25, had been arrested 15 times in prior years on a variety of charges. After his arrest, captured on cell phone video by a nearby resident, police recovered a small knife. They cuffed him and placed him in the back of a police vam, but did not secure him with a seat belt 鈥� for the purpose of giving him what was later described in court testimony as a 鈥渞ough ride,鈥� where police attempt to bang up those arrested as they are tossed around in the back of the vehicle.
When police later checked on Gray, he was lying unconscious and was then transported to the Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
Gray died a week later, on April 19, 2015. The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide, apparently from a spinal cord injury suffered inside the police van.
On the day Gray died, Russell recalls confronting angry protesters outside the Western Police District, some screaming, 鈥淭ell us why you killed Freddie.鈥�
鈥淚 represented the police department, and at that moment, I thought I better have some answers,鈥� Russell said.
Gray鈥檚 death sparked countless protests throughout the city. Days later, those protests erupted in violence that went on for days throughout the city, but concentrated in West Baltimore.
On Monday, April 27, dozens of police officers were pelted with rocks thrown by young people near Mondawmin Mall. A CVS store was set on fire at the corner of Pennsylvania and W. North avenues. Hundreds of locally owned businesses also were heavily damaged or destroyed.
For several days, a citywide curfew was imposed during overnight hours. More than 100 police officers were injured.
Four days later, then-Baltimore City State鈥檚 Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced the indictments of six officers connected to Gray鈥檚 arrest, on a variety of charges. The announcement, televised live on Baltimore TV stations, was greeted with cheers and celebration by residents throughout the city.
鈥淚 think she [Mosby] saved our neighborhoods,鈥� Cheatham said. 鈥淚f she hadn鈥檛 had the police officers charged, you would have still had a neighborhood that was upset, and they probably would have done more damage.鈥�
Ultimately, none of the six officers was convicted. A mistrial was declared in Officer William Porter鈥檚 case, and Officers Caesar Goodson Jr. and Edward Nero were acquitted of all charges.
In July, 2016, Mosby held a news conference in the West Baltimore neighborhood where Freddie Gray was arrested, and announced she was dropping all charges against three others: Lt. Brian Rice, Sgt. Alicia White and Officer Garrett Miller.
Eight years ago, U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar authorized a consent decree between the Justice Department and the Baltimore Police, which called for major reforms in the department.
Those changes include an overhaul in policies for transporting people in custody, including extensive training and upgrading vehicle equipment maintenance. Officers are now equipped with body cameras, and cameras have been installed in all police vans.
In a statement, Police Commissioner Richard Worley said, 鈥淭he public has my full commitment that these changes reflect a true cultural shift within BPD, a fundamentally reformed agency that serves as a national model for reducing violent crime and upholding constitutional policing.鈥�
But Baltimore Attorney William H. 鈥淏illy鈥� Murphy Jr., who represents Gray鈥檚 family, says there is still a major problem with the department that impacts public safety.
鈥淚鈥檓 very concerned that Baltimore does not have enough police officers,鈥� Murphy said. 鈥淚f he [Mayor Scott] has one problem with what鈥檚 going on, that鈥檚 it.鈥�
A Baltimore Police spokesperson said there are currently about 500 vacancies for sworn officers and 鈥渢he department has hired 70 new recruits since the start of 2025,鈥� nearly double the number hired at this time last year.
In 2021, the General Assembly enacted legislation that transferred control of the Baltimore Police Department from the state to the city. Murphy said he hopes the change will let the mayor will take an active role to implement major changes in the department by removing corrupt officers to enhance public confidence.
