Officials in Baltimore say largely peaceful protests of Freddie Gray's death boiled over into confrontations between demonstrators and authorities yesterday.
According to the Associated Press, about 1,200 protesters convened convened at the site of Gray's death, marching towards City Hall. From there, the Associated Press says they proceeded to Camden Yards, where fans enjoying the game between the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox were told to stay inside as a safety precaution. The Associated Press reports that a smaller group resorted to reckless and aggressive behavior:
Meanwhile, a smaller splinter group looted a convenience store and threw tables and chairs through storefront windows, shattering the glass. One group smashed the window of a department store inside a downtown mall and, at one point, a protester tossed a flaming metal garbage can toward a line of police officers in riot gear as they tried to push back the crowd.
Earlier, a group of protesters smashed the windows of at least three police cars and got into fights with baseball fans outside a bar.
In response, Anthony Batts, Baltimore's Police Commissioner, says that 1,200 officers were sent to keep things orderly. According to the Associated Press, 12 people were arrested, and as many as five officers were injured. Batts is under the belief that the more aggressive faction was not composed of Baltimore residents, saying the "majority of the people here did a great job."
Gray, 25, died a week after being arrested by Baltimore police for having a knife in his pocket. An attorney representing his family claims his neck was 80 percent severed at the spine, and the police department acknowledged that Gray should've received medical attention prior to being transported to the police station.
During a press conference with Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Gray's twin sister, Fredricka, pleaded for an end to the violence: "My family wants to say, can you all please, please stop the violence? Freddie Gray would not want this."
[via Associated Press]
