"The world is watching. The world is watching, and the world needs to see that black Baltimore is unified."
- Pastor Jamal Bryant of the Empowerment Temple
Demonstrators poured into Baltimore streets carrying signs with the name of a man who died from a spinal injury he suffered while in police custody. Tuesday's demonstration marked the start of a week of protests and rallies planned across the city according to the Associated Press.
A civil rights investigation has been opened into the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who suffered a fatal spinal-cord injury under mysterious circumstances after he was handcuffed and put in the back of a police van, said The Justice Department.
More than a thousand demonstrators gathered to remember Gray at the site where he was arrested. Friends and relatives say was kind, funny and generous, and call for police reform.
A civil rights investigation has been opened into the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who suffered a fatal spinal-cord injury under mysterious circumstances after he was handcuffed and put in the back of a police van, said The Justice Department.
More than a thousand demonstrators gathered to remember Gray at the site where he was arrested. Friends and relatives say was kind, funny and generous, and call for police reform.
via the Associated Press
"I want this to be a sign to the Baltimore Police Department that this is not an act of surrender," said Pastor Jamal Bryant of the Empowerment Temple, one of the rally's organizers, as he called on those in the crowd to raise their hands. "It's a sign of strength, of one unity and one commitment that we will not rest until we get justice for Freddie Gray.
Gray was taken into custody April 12 after police "made eye contact" with him and another man in a known area for drug activity, police said, and both men started running. Gray was handcuffed and placed into a transport van. At some point during his roughly 30-minute ride, the van was stopped and Gray's legs were shackled when an officer felt he was becoming "irate," police said.
One week after his arrest Gray died of what police described as "a significant spinal injury."
Exactly how he was injured and what happened in the van is still not known.
Demonstrators called for answers, accountability and a change to how they say people in inner-city Baltimore are treated by officers patrolling the neighborhood.
One week after his arrest Gray died of what police described as "a significant spinal injury."
Exactly how he was injured and what happened in the van is still not known.
Demonstrators called for answers, accountability and a change to how they say people in inner-city Baltimore are treated by officers patrolling the neighborhood.
WRITTEN BY: VIOLA CONSTANCE | @Voila_its_Viola
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