Two injured, dozens arrested in Baltimore protest

BALTIMORE – Thousands of protesters took to the streets Saturday in the largest Freddie Gray rally yet, and after hours of peaceful demonstrations, pockets of protesters smashed out police car windows and storefronts.

Two people were hurt in the mayhem and at least a dozen were arrested. The problems happened near Camden Yards, where the Baltimore Orioles game against the Boston Red Sox went on as scheduled. Fans were told toward the end of the game to stay in the stadium because of public safety worries. Before the game, demonstrators fought with fans at a bar.

Gray died April 19 after suffering a fatal spinal injury while in police custody. Authorities have not explained how or when Gray’s spine was injured. Police have said Gray should have received medical attention at the spot where he was arrested – before he was put inside a police transport van handcuffed and without a seat belt, a violation of the department’s policy.

In her first public comments since Gray’s death, his twin sister, Fredricka Gray, appealed for calm as she appeared with the mayor at a news conference.

“My family wants to say, can you all please, please stop the violence?” she said. “Freddie Gray would not want this. Freddie’s father and mother did not want nobody … Violence does not get justice.”

There have been near-daily protests since Gray’s death. Saturday, a small group threw cans and plastic bottles in the direction of police officers. One protester broke out the window of a police cruiser, grabbed a police hat inside and wore it while standing on top of the cruiser with several other protesters.

At that point, scores of officer rushed into the area, stopped and formed a line, three officers deep. The protesters scattered but returned a few minutes later and began yelling “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!”

From inside the stadium, fans watched the protesters gather.

Before the protest turned tense and violent, demonstrators filled two city blocks and marched 2 miles to City Hall, where the crowd overtook the grassy plaza adjacent to the building.

Tanya Peacher, a 36-year-old Baltimore resident, said she’d never attended a protest in the city before, but watching a video of Gray’s arrest motivated her.

“I looked at my son,” she said, “and thought ‘that is my son.’ ”

Residents young and old, from Baltimore and beyond, voiced their anger at how the department and the city’s officials are handling the investigation into Gray’s death. At one point, the crowd paused for a moment of silence in front of Shock Trauma, the hospital where Gray died. The marchers then migrated to Camden Yards.

At a downtown intersection, a dozen marchers laid down in the street during an impromptu “die-in.”