Protests Over Ferguson Decision Underway Across Baltimore; I-83 Reopens
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Protests are taking place throughout Baltimore City following a grand jury's decision not to indict a white police officer in the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Mo. I-83 has reopened again. Officials are asking people to avoid downtown.
No arrests have been reported.
Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown on Aug. 9. The grand jury's Monday night decision has sparked more protests in Missouri and beyond.
Christie Ileto has more on the protesters.
They're saying that status quo has never been working and that what happened in Ferguson can't happen here on the streets of Baltimore.
"We want people to not be afraid and to see how many people are tired and the same old same old and the same laws of people not being held accountable," said Abdul Salam.
A grand jury's decision this week to clear Darren Wilson, the cop who killed unarmed teen Michael Brown in Missouri is at the center of Tuesday's protest.
"A black child is killed. Race is real," said one.
Students, parents and residents flooded the street. The protest is peaceful but their message is stern.
"These are human beings and it's not right that we get to pick and choose who gets to live," said Lindsay Kolow.
"There are cops all over America who are just killing all these innocent young people," said Victoria Jones.
"I have a little brother who's about the same age as these kids," said Tynesha Forman.
For Forman, it's personal.
"I want to feel that somebody won't see him and be like...that's somebody that we have a license to kill," she said.
"This is the first time I've ever cried because I'm alive to see two young black men get shot down and nothing happen to the killer so it could happen to me any day," Salam said.
It's that reality marchers are hoping to change---change they say starts now on the streets of Baltimore.
McKeldin Square was the site of a rally Tuesday. For the most part, this protest was peaceful.
Mike Hellgren has more on the protests.
The JFX was shut down twice but is currently open and traffic is running smoothly. However, at North Avenue, the protesters continue to march and there is a very heavy police presence---including a busload of state troopers. Protesters are not allowed to go down side streets.
As anger over the Ferguson decision spread to Baltimore, protestors shut down I-83 several times---some sitting in the street---creating gridlock downtown for hours.
"We're going to facilitate people having their first amendment rights but we're not going to shut down traffic," said Police Commissioner Anthony Batts.
While protests were largely peaceful, there were moments of chaos. Video from J.M. Giordano at the Baltimore City Paper shows someone jumping on an SUV. There was also tension as a US Mail truck tried to turn on Fayette Street and protestors blocked it.
"It's not a matter between black or white; it's a matter of what's right or wrong," said one protester.
Police carefully cordoned off blocks, forming barriers near Baltimore City Hall as they kept tabs on the crowd.
They tried to balance freedom of speech while keeping the city moving.
One demonstrator was hit by a truck but was not injured.
Rochelle Ritchie has more on local reaction to the grand jury's decision.
Passionate protestors have taken to the street of Baltimore City, from McKeldin Square to Morgan State University--all in response to the decision not to indict Wilson.
"Police officers shooting unarmed people is probably the biggest damper I've seen in justice in recent weeks, months and the past few years," said Bryan Upsher, UB law student.
They say the decision sends the message that police are above the law.
"The police in this country have just gone crazy. They think that they have the authority to kill whoever they want, and they're not being held accountable for what they do," one man said.
It was an emotional moment outside of the University of Baltimore, where law students took a silent approach to their demonstration--stretching out on the ground in protest to the grand jury's decision not to indict Wilson.
"I started tearing up," said Crystale Barfield, UB Law student. "It was really heart-wrenching because you see that, and I just felt like that could've been me."
Outlined in chalk, students lay on the ground for four minutes in indication of the four hours Brown's body laid in the street.
"This isn't about one person, although Michael Brown obviously paid a terrible price, but there are broad questions about how police are deployed and what force they use in particular situations," said Ronald Weich, UB dean of law.
Baltimore City residents now join the thousands across the nation in peaceful demonstrations.
"There are so many steps that we need to take in order to be successful in our search for justice and peace, in our search for equality. One big step we can take is police body cameras, putting cameras on police so that we understand exactly what's going on, so that we don't have so many discrepancies in stories," Upsher said.
City police are pleased that despite the outrage, people in Baltimore City remain committed to demonstrating peacefully.
"We have about three different crowds throughout the city as a whole. Everybody's peaceful. They've been peaceful throughout the day. No major issues, and I think it's an outcry of pain and hurt from communities," said Anthony Batts, police commissioner.
"While we may not always agree, one thing we always agree on is their right to demonstrate peacefully, and we will do everything in our power to ensure that they have that right," said Deputy Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez.
At Morgan State University, protests were a bit more vocal—all in frustration over the grand jury's decision.
"This is an epidemic around the nation," a student protestor said.
"It doesn't have to take a hundred plus days to come to a solution,or a verdict if you will. But what it does take is a 100 plus days to try and justify and rationalize," said Dr. Monique Akassi, MSU assistant professor.
View Complete Photo Gallery Of Local Protests Over The Ferguson Decision
The moving protest that started at Morgan State University shut down roads, including Cold Spring Lane, near the Northeast Baltimore campus on Tuesday afternoon. As students march arm-in-arm through Northeast Baltimore, they can be heard chanting "No justice. No peace" and "Hands up. Don't shoot."
The demands for change are now coming together as one voice in Washington, D.C. where Civil Rights organizations, including the Baltimore chapter of the NAACP, will take their issue of police using deadly force to the federal government.
"I think people will feel a little uplift if they see someone of law enforcement across the United States when these things happen to go to court," said Baltimore NAACP president Tessa Hill-Aston.
Hill-Aston says voting is what changes the law.
The legal battle is fair from over in Ferguson. Brown's family can file a wrongful death lawsuit against Wilson. The justice department investigation is not yet complete.
For the latest on Ferguson, click over to our sister site CBS St. Louis.
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