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 A day after thousands of demonstrators marched through the city
demanding justice in the investigation into the April 19 death of
Freddie Gray, 25, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake condemned the
lawlessness that erupted on Saturday.
On Saturday evening, scores of protesters splintered off from the
main rally to hurl bottles, metal barricades and various objects at
police and their patrol cars, and to vandalize storefronts and other
properties downtown, authorities said.
There were 35 arrests, and six officers suffered minor injuries,
according to police and the mayor.
The protest was the latest expression of a national outcry over a
white-dominated U.S. law enforcement establishment that civil rights
leaders accuse of routinely disrespecting and brutalizing
African-Americans.
 "Last night we saw a small group of agitators turning what was
otherwise a peaceful demonstration into violent disruptions,"
Rawlings-Blake said at a news conference held by civic leaders and
clergy at a Baltimore church, echoing comments she made Saturday
night. "I will not let those individuals put their agendas ahead of
our city's."
The police department, in a separate statement, also blamed "outside
agitators" for the violence, saying those groups "led to small
pockets of protesters engaged in criminal activity."
Among those detained were two members of the media, according to
police, who on Sunday apologized for the arrests, saying they were
inadvertent.
One of the journalists, Sait Serkan Gurbuz, a freelance photographer
covering the protests for Reuters, was charged with "failure to obey
orders" while photographing police, though the citation was later
"recalled."
"We welcome the police department’s apology and statement that the
citation will be recalled," a Reuters spokeswoman said. "We hope
that in the future the department will respect the First Amendment
right of the press to lawfully take images in the public interest."
The streets of Baltimore were largely quiet on Sunday, as mourners
held a wake for Gray, who died a week after patrol officers arrested
him following a foot chase though a high-crime area of the city. It
was not clear why Gray was detained, but officers said he was
carrying a switchblade knife, and he was put inside a transport van.
At some point, Gray suffered the spinal injury that would lead to
his death a week later. Anthony Batts, the city's police
commissioner, acknowledged on Friday that officers repeatedly failed
to give him timely medical attention while he was in custody.
The mayor said she expected the internal police investigation into
Gray's arrest and death to be completed by week's end. "The
commissioner feels that he can turn over everything he has on
Friday," she said.
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The head of the Baltimore police union called Batts' assertion
premature and said it was apparently "politically driven."
Gray is one of a number of black men who have died under
questionable circumstances during police encounters in recent
months. Last year, weeks of protests followed the fatal shooting of
unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by a white officer in Ferguson,
Missouri, and the chokehold death of Eric Garner in New York City.
Funeral services for Gray were scheduled for Monday morning, to be
followed by his burial.
Ricardo Flood, who said he did not know Gray but was frightened by
the police violence, stood outside the Tudor-style funeral home on
Sunday, waving a sign in support of Gray’s family. “All I can do is
pray for them,” he said.
Six Baltimore police officers have been suspended in the Gray case.
Standing in the street outside the wake on Sunday, a small group of
people held signs reading, "Honk for Freddie." Passing cars
frequently sounded their horns.
The city police department beefed up its presence downtown and
across Baltimore on Sunday, with extra officers slated to be
deployed in the area through the night and into the week.
Several events were postponed or canceled on Sunday due to safety
concerns after Saturday's protests. But an afternoon game between
the Baltimore Orioles and the Red Sox at Camden Yards, the downtown
baseball stadium, went ahead on schedule.
(Additional reporting by Lacey Johnson and Laila Kearney; Writing by
Frank McGurty; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Leslie Adler)
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