By Colin Campbell and Jessica Anderson
The Baltimore Sun
BALTIMORE — Hundreds of protesters poured onto the streets of downtown Baltimore on Thursday, halting rush-hour traffic as they marched on the fifth consecutive day of demonstrations since Freddie Gray died after being injured in police custody.
After rallying outside City Hall, protesters made their way through the Inner Harbor to Federal Hill and then to the Western District police station, where Gray was pulled unconscious from a prisoner transport van after his arrest on April 12. Gray, 25, died a week later.
Tensions remained high, with angry demonstrators yelling and swearing at mostly stoic police officers. Two protesters were arrested for disorderly conduct and destruction of property at Pennsylvania Avenue and Pitcher Street, causing a commotion in the street.
But most of the protesters expressed their anger peacefully, blowing whistles and holding signs as they marched several miles from the City Hall event to the police station in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood. They high-fived people in their cars who honked their horns and others who leaned out of buses.
A few confronted a taxi driver on Light Street who rolled down his window to voice anger at the protests, but others pulled them away, encouraging them to keep moving and keep the demonstration nonviolent.
Before the march, the Rev. Jamal H. Bryant, of the Empowerment Temple, prayed with protesters and led chants of “No justice, no peace!” outside City Hall.
Protesters applauded the U.S. Senate for confirming Loretta Lynch as the first black woman as U.S. attorney general.
Bryant, one of several speakers who addressed the crowd, called for supporters of the Gray family to wear gray to church on Sunday in solidarity with them.
“We are not calling for revenge,” he said. “We are calling for justice.”
City leaders and police took additional steps to maintain order. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake allowed city employees downtown to leave early Thursday to ease traffic conditions. Police said in a statement that leave was canceled for all officers and other employees “to ensure adequate coverage of the city.”
Police also called in reinforcements from the Maryland State Police to help monitor the protests, which are expected to continue Friday and into the weekend, with a large march and rally planned Saturday afternoon from the scene of Gray’s arrest in Gilmor Homes to City Hall.
Many, including Council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young, criticized the city for calling in police reinforcements for nonviolent protests.
“You don’t need it at all,” Young said. “Our citizens, the majority of them, are not violent. They are frustrated and angry.”
City police, the Department of Justice and the Baltimore state’s attorney’s office continue to investigate Gray’s death, while the six city police officers involved in his arrest remain on paid leave.
Baltimore police said Commissioner Anthony W. Batts met Thursday with representatives of the protesters and Gray’s family, expressing his sympathy and updating them on the investigation.
Juan Grant, 28, a childhood friend of Gray’s, said he went on behalf of the family, who were too distraught to attend.
Kiona Mack, 25, who recorded one of the videos of Gray’s arrest, and accompanied Grant to the meeting with Batts. “He convinced me that he is on top of the investigation,” Grant said. “This is a full-on criminal investigation.”
Earlier Thursday, organizers from the Peoples Power Assembly held a news conference and rally at North Mount and Presbury streets, announcing that the group is planning to conduct an independent investigation into Gray’s death.
“We do not have faith in the mayor’s office or the Baltimore City police to conduct a fair and impartial investigation,” said the Rev. Cortley “C.D.” Witherspoon, an organizer with the Peoples Power Assembly, in a statement.
Copyright 2015 The Baltimore Sun