Baltimore--Protesters returned to Baltimore's streets Saturday to vent outrage over the death of an African-American man from injuries he apparently sustained when taken into police custody two weekends ago.
Organizers anticipated the biggest outpouring of public anger since Freddie Gray, 25, was arrested on April 12, only to die in a coma seven days later from severe spinal injuries.
Several hundred protesters gathered at the west Baltimore housing project where Gray was apprehended and headed toward the district police station that has been the focal point of nightly demonstrations this week.
"No justice, no peace!" chanted the crowd, under a forest of banners, including one featuring portraits of African Americans who have died in confrontations with police in recent years.
They joined several hundred more on the lawn in front of Baltimore's stately city hall for a late-afternoon rally, with many of the participants coming from outside the city and the state.
Speakers called for President Barack Obama to launch a national inquiry into police misconduct, and questioned the absence of the city's Democratic mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who is black.
No arrests or incidents were reported, as marchers -- mostly African American, but with many whites as well -- took it upon themselves to direct traffic at some intersections.
Tensions have been simmering in the blue-collar Mid-Atlantic port city of 620,000 as investigators try to establish the circumstances that led to Gray's death.
In a press conference Friday, officials acknowledged Gray should have received medical help at the moment he was detained, when he was seen by bystanders -- and caught on video -- howling in apparent pain.
They also revealed that Gray, contrary to policy, was not buckled into his seat in the van, which made at least three unexplained stops on its way to the Western District police station.
Gray died Sunday with 80 percent of his spine severed at the neck, lawyers for his family have said. His funeral is scheduled for Monday.
AFP
