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 A handful of the hundred of marchers demonstrating against the
death of Freddie Gray, 25, threw bottles of water and debris at
police as officers arrested a man during the noisy march from City
Hall to the Western District police station where Gray was taken
when he was arrested on April 12.
Police said during Thursday's protest one man was arrested for
assault, and another for destruction of property.
Gray died a week after he was arrested. A preliminary autopsy showed
he died of a spinal cord injury.
His death has sparked outrage, and Thursday's march was the latest
protest in the largely black city. Demonstrators have taken to the
streets elsewhere across the United States over police killings and
allegations of excessive force, particularly against minorities.
Protesters stopped outside the office of the U.S. Attorney and
Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, who will determine
whether charges will be brought against officers in the case.
Some protesters called for the six officers suspended in connection
with the case to be charged with murder.
The march snarled rush-hour traffic and drew onlookers in
Baltimore's Inner Harbor, its premier tourist attraction.
Chanting "Tell the truth! Stop the lie! Freddie didn't have to die,"
protesters ended outside the Western District station facing off
with police behind metal barricades.
Kinji Scott, 45, a community activist and educator, said Baltimore's
poor neighborhoods need jobs and better education.
"You neglect our community and then deny us justice? We need
justice," he said.
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Maryland Governor Larry Hogan was sending 25 state troopers to
reinforce Baltimore police, his office said.
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference said it would
investigate Gray's death, and the local head of the civil rights
group said it lacked confidence in a police probe.
Police said Gray fled when officers approached, and they found a
switchblade knife in his pocket. He was put in a police van to be
taken to a station.
When Gray was taken out, he was unresponsive and taken to a
hospital.
Police told the Baltimore Sun newspaper that Gray was not buckled
into a seat belt inside the van. The department's policy requires
that all prisoners be properly buckled in.
Police have said they will conclude their investigation by May 1
and turn results over to state prosecutors, followed by an
independent review. The U.S. Department of Justice is conducting a
separate probe.
(Editing by Curtis Skinner, Ellen Wulfhorst, Peter Cooney and
Cynthia Osterman)
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