Thousands in other cities protest death of Baltimore man

BALTIMORE - Thousands of people hit the streets in Baltimore and several other cities from Boston and New York to Indianapolis and Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to protest the death of a black man who died of spinal injuries after his arrest by Baltimore police and to demand reforms in police procedures.

While protests of the death of Freddie Gray were mostly peaceful, there were some arrests, including 16 in Baltimore and more than a dozen at a rally in Manhattan's Union Square. Gray, of Baltimore, was critically injured in police custody.

After meeting with faith leaders and a lawyer for the Gray family, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said officials were working hard to make the investigation into Gray's death transparent and keep the community informed.

Police have said that they will turn over findings from their investigation to the state's attorney on Friday.

Still, anger and anxiety hung over Baltimore.

Hundreds of protesters, many of them students wearing backpacks, marched through downtown, calling for swift justice in the case of Gray.

Teenagers started the violence Monday afternoon, throwing bricks and bottles at officers who had gathered near a major bus transfer point.

The situation escalated, overwhelming police as protesters set fire to cars and buildings and raided stores.

Shortly before the 10 p.m. curfew Wednesday, Baltimore police in riot gear began to shut down North Avenue by lining up in the intersection.

Traffic had been flowing freely at the corner of North and Pennsylvania Avenues, the site of Monday night's looting. On Tuesday night, the intersection had been closed to traffic, blocked by a line of police in riot gear.

As he did Tuesday night, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D., Md.), who represents the area, was on the scene asking more than 100 protesters to go home ahead of the 10 p.m. curfew. "I'm hoping that people will listen," Cummings said. "This is my neighborhood. I know a lot of these people."

Community members forcefully urged others to go home ahead of the curfew, and a few fights broke out within the crowd. But they were quickly broken up.

A few minutes after the citywide curfew, only a couple of dozen people were left at the scene of Monday's rioting.

A police helicopter broadcast a warning to stragglers: "You must go home. You will be subject to an arrest."

Schools closed Tuesday because of the mayhem, but reopened Wednesday, after the city's first night of a curfew went off without the widespread violence many had feared.

About 3,000 police and National Guardsmen descended on the city to help keep order, and life wasn't likely to get completely back to normal anytime soon.

The curfew got off to a not-so-promising start Tuesday night when about 200 protesters ignored warnings from police and pleas from pastors and other community activists to disperse. Some threw water bottles or lay down on the ground.

A line of officers behind riot shields hurled tear gas canisters and fired pepper balls at the crowd, which dispersed in a matter of minutes.

Police said 35 people were arrested after the curfew went into effect.

And in what was one of the weirdest spectacles in major-league history, Wednesday afternoon's Baltimore Orioles game at Camden Yards was closed to the public for safety reasons.

Earlier in the day, protesters outside the office of Baltimore's top prosecutor said they supported State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, who took office in January and pledged during her campaign to address aggressive police practices.

Mosby's office is expected on Friday to get investigative findings from police on Gray's death. She will then face a decision on whether and how to pursue charges against the six police officers who arrested Gray.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Wednesday called the rioting in Baltimore "senseless acts of violence" that were counterproductive to improving relationships between the police and community.

In her first public remarks on the unrest since being sworn in two days earlier, Lynch said the city could in some ways be seen as a symbol of the national debate on race relations and law enforcement. "But," she added, "I'd ask that we remember that Baltimore is more than just a symbol. Baltimore is a city. It is a great city. It is a beautiful city."

The Boston protest began Wednesday evening in a park behind police headquarters in Roxbury and continued with a peaceful march through the neighborhood. Police accompanied the marchers and blocked streets for them.

Marchers chanted "no justice, no peace, no racist police" and some carried signs, including "Boston Stands With Baltimore."

In downtown Indianapolis, more than two dozen protesters marched around Monument Circle chanting "no racist police" and carrying signs with slogans that included "I'm not scared of the apocalypse. I'm scared of a copalypse."

More than a dozen people were arrested at a rally in Manhattan's Union Square.

Several hundred protesters began gathering Wednesday night, chanting "no justice, no peace" and "hands up, don't shoot" as police officers watched.

Later, a group of protesters spilled into the street and disrupted traffic. The police moved in and began making arrests. Officers with batons pushed the crowd back onto the sidewalk.

Meanwhile, a White House spokesman reflected on the video of Toya Graham, saying the Baltimore mother who chased her son away from a riot with police on Monday represented "a powerful expression about the role that parents can play."

"The thing that resonated with me is - was her expression that she was concerned about her son facing the same fate as Freddie Gray," spokesman Josh Earnest said. "And while I'm sure that it was not the immediate reaction of her son to feel like she was looking out for his best interest, there is no doubting that her reaction was one that was rooted in her concern for his safety and his well-being and her love for her child."

A clip of Graham smacking her son around has become very popular on television broadcasts and social media.

Organizers expect a "Philly is Baltimore" protest to draw at least 1,000 people to City Hall on Thursday. B1.

A prisoner in the van says Gray was "banging against the walls." A8.

Like a James Brown song, #BlackOutDay aims to uplift. Magazine, C1.

Mike Sielski: The only thing missing was the roar of the crowd. Sports, D1.EndText