WaPo’s augmented-reality tool triggers when readers download the ARc augmented reality app (available on the Apple App Store or Google Play) and point their smartphone’s camera to a custom Washington Post logo beside the story in both print and digital.

Users can click through eight scenes narrated by Washington Post reporter Lynh Bui. The experience starts with the police chase and ends when Gray was found in cardiac arrest and taken to the hospital.

Smartphones display 3D models of the police car, the officers and the surroundings for each scene. Users can toggle the on-screen options, like map pop-ups showing key locations in the case. Users can also rotate around a scene or tap on the eye icon for more contextual information.

All of the information is based on evidence presented at the first officer’s trial and information from witnesses, according to a statement from WaPo.

Jeremy Gilbert, director of strategic initiatives at The Washington Post, told Journalism.co.uk. that the newspaper chose to create an augmented-reality experience around this story because there "isn't a single [complete] visual record or one eyewitness account" from the scene.

"By putting a visual trigger out and allowing people to see a 3D version of the events, we let viewers look at the scene from any viewpoint they want, so they see it as if they were there when it happened,” he explained.

Gilbert said WaPo is in “a very exploratory phase” and is experimenting with different formats to find which one is right for each type of story.

"Whether we keep doing augmented reality in the future through a smartphone app, a hologram or something entirely different, we do think it's a format that allows you to layer extra information to a story,” he said.

On April 12, 2015, 25-year-old Freddie Gray was arrested by Baltimore police for possessing what they believed was an illegal switchblade. While he was being transported in a police van, Gray fell into a coma and died one week later, setting off protests in Baltimore.

On Thursday, Baltimore Police Officer Edward M. Nero — one of three bicycle officers involved in Gray’s arrest — is expected to stand trial before a judge. He has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office.