Baltimore reeling from volatile police demonstrations
BALTIMORE -- A week of protests in Baltimore turned into a night of violence, with dozens of arrests, officers injured, and the family of Freddie Gray calling for calm. The 25-year-old died after being hurt in police custody. His wake was Sunday.
Mourners carried flowers and grief into a funeral home in north Baltimore today, where the family held a wake for Freddie Gray.
Jeanette Johnson was one of hundreds who came.
"I'm so devastated," she said, although she did not know Gray. "Because I have sons and it could have been them."
Jasmine Lee is Freddie Gray's cousin.
"When I go in there, it's reality that he's gone," said Lee. "And it's not fair. And we want justice."
Gray's still-unexplained death a week ago after suffering a spinal injury in police custody led to an eruption of anger which, until yesterday, had remained largely peaceful.
But 90 minutes before dusk, a mob near the Camden Yards baseball stadium attacked police cars, threw bottles, rocks and cones at police, and looted several nearby businesses.
Dozens of officers charged the rioters, surging into the crowd to detain a protester. 35 were arrested in all.
As night fell, 1,200 officers were deployed citywide, 300 swept the downtown streets. We spoke to Lt. Thompson, who declined to give his first name.
He was asked if he believed violent protesters were outsiders. "I have dealt with the people in this neighborhood for years," he said. "I've worked in the district for years and I've never had any trouble like this."
Freddie Gray's twin sister, Fredericka, later joined the city's mayor to call for peace. "My family wants to say, can you all please, please stop the violence? Freddie Gray would not want this."
Damaged businesses in Baltimore have already been boarded up. No damage estimate has been released. The family has asked that there be no protests today or tomorrow, when Freddie Gray's funeral is scheduled.