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reform process will now convert to provision of technical assistance to the baltimore police department. now, some may ask how this differs from our current work with baltimore police department and the answer is rather than examining whether the police department violated good policies we will now examine whether they violated the constitution and the community's civil rights. this approach has been welcomed by the baltimore city fraternal order of police. i want to thank them for their support and their partnership as we move forward. in the coming days civil rights division attorneys and investigators conducting the investigation and the police experts who will assist them will be engaging with community members and with law enforcement. we'll examine policies practices and available data. at the conclusion of our investigation, we will issue a report of our findings. if unconstitutional policies or practices are found, we will seek a court enforceable agreement to address those issues. we will also continue to move
the challenges that we face and that baltimore faces now did not arise in a day and change will not come overnight. it will take time and sustained effort. the people that i met in baltimore from the protesters to the public officials to the officers including one who had been injured amidst the violence all were saying to me ultimately the same thing. i love my city. i want to make it better. and that is why i'm optimistic about this process. that's why i am actually hopeful about the days and weeks to come and that is why i'm confident that as a result of this investigation and the hard work that is still ahead and make no mistake about it it is hard work. all members of the baltimore community, residents and law enforcement alike, will create a stronger safer and more united city together. thank you for your time and your attention. at this time i would like to open it up for a few questions. >> reporter: part of the request
that with every individual's right to free speech with privacy rights. those are very important concerns. and so we have to balance that also with making sure that what we do does not interfere with the free flow of information for all law abiding citizens. i'm not able to give you specific details of what the government is focusing on now but to say that we're focusing on that as an issue. it's not a new issue. we've seen social media being used in a number of cases. it's an expansion of how the internet has been used frankly for several years now both in recruitment and radicalization of young people to join terrorist groups. >> we'll take one more question. >> reporter: can you explain to people why they shouldn't be concerned that the federal government was flying surveillance place over baltimore during the protests? >> i did see that report. i think that someone came to me
public safety. now, for many people across the country, the tragic death of mr. freddie gray and unfortunate violence that did occur has come to personify the city as if that alone is baltimore. earlier this week i visited with members of the community who took to the streets in the days following the unrest to pick up trash and clear away debris and they are baltimore. i visited with elected officials who were determined to help the neighborhoods that they love come back stronger and more united and they are baltimore. i visited youth leaders who believe that there is a brighter day ahead and they are baltimore, too. i also visited with law enforcement officers that worked 16 days without a break and they were focused not on themselves or even their own safety but on protecting the people who live in their community. they too, are baltimore. none of us has illusions.
about the attorney general's statement was she described a frayed relationship between the community and the police frankly and she said it's an understatement because it's to the point of being severed. so she is using some very tough language to describe what a big job this police department has in baltimore to try to regain trust there. >> tom, something else that intrigued me about what loretta lynch said. this investigation and others will be helpful to police departments across the country. is that right? >> absolutely carol. first of all, i would like to say i have the highest respect for loretta lynch. i worked with her when she was a young assistant united states attorney in the eastern district of new york when i was working in the organized crime program. she prosecuted many organized crime cases where she worked closely with fbi agents other federal agents local police officers. she went to china in one of our cases to work with the chinese police officers that worked eded
and said something about were you flying drones over baltimore? i thought i don't have drones. leaving that aside -- not particularly no. it's actually not an uncommon practice for police helicopters to fly over to try to figure out where are people moving to or where might violence be breaking out and provide information down to the field similar to officers on the ground providing surveillance reports as well. so i don't think it was a new occurrence. i think you see it in any number of cities. it was for the limited purpose of finding out where were pockets of violence and what could be done about that. you'll have to be the last one. john? >> reporter: the other day when the mayor was talking about asking you about the investigation, she was also touting a 46% drop in complaints about use of force and 54%
situations that have highlighted this fracture in various communities in different parts of the countries, cities of all sizes issues ranging from people being harmed or unfortunate deaths in custody. i think we see it when it occurs. i think that the issue really goes beyond just the interaction between the police and the community. we're talking about generations not only of mistrust but generations of communities that feel very separated from government overall. you were talking about situations where there's a flash point occurrence that coalesces years of frustration and anger and that's what i think you saw in baltimore when there was an unfortunate night of violence. i think you see it in other cities around the country as well. you can't look at a city and predict what's going to happen. you can't look at a city and analyze it and certainly we're not looking to do that. we hope that our work both through collaborative reform and
a guide but not to be the hand reaching in to every police department because we truly do believe that communities, cities police departments, they know their cities best. they know what those issues and those problems are. we want to help them reach better solutions. >> eric tucker with associated press. much has been made about the different racial dynamics when you talk about baltimore city versus ferguson and in ferguson you had a police department that had very few number of minorities. obviously the situation in baltimore is very different. to what extent based on that racial dynamic are you anticipating that the problems in baltimore will be different and perhaps less race based in nature than what we encountered in ferguson? >> i think regardless of the racial ethnic make up of any city every city is different. every police department is different. they all present different issues. i think that policing is a challenging profession at this
investigation into the baltimore city police department. in case you are just joining us i want to sum it up for you quickly. some of the questions that will be addressed by this department of justice investigation did baltimore police conduct unlawful searches seizures and arrests? did baltimore police violate the constitution and the community's civil rights and also the justice department will continue to improve the baltimore police department while this investigation is going on. with me now to talk about what the attorney general just said cnn justice reporter evan perez, our national correspondent suzanne malveaux in baltimore and cnn law enforcement analyst and former fbi assistant director tom fuentes. >> it was a local story and then it turned into national and international story before the riots broke out and before the community took to the streets and helped the police and law enforcement and those community activists gained their streets back in peace in this community.
time no matter where you are. i think the issues facing baltimore do -- some people express them in racial tones. more in tones of community leaders feel frustrated and pain. police department leaders feeling frustrated at not being able to protect their city. it was a strong commonalty in what i heard in baltimore that crossed races, crossed professions and crossed groups. every city is different. i don't want to prejudge or put that particular prism on any particular city. >> reporter: a senator yesterday asked that grant money provided to agencies be tied to ethnic bias training. what is your position?