Thousands pack Baltimore streets for ‘victory rally’

 

Perhaps thousands of demonstrators convened in Baltimore on Saturday for what organizers termed a “victory rally” marking charges against six police officers in the death of Freddie Gray.

 

Black Lawyers for Justice, which organized Saturday’s rally, said they expected 10,000 marchers for the major rally, centered at Baltimore’s City Hall, the Associated Press reported.

 

The march came a day after the state’s attorney for Baltimore, Marilyn Mosby, charged the six officers in the death of Freddie Gray, who suffered a severed spinal cord and died last month in police custody. 

 

{mosads}Other demonstrations popped up in Baltimore as well Saturday, along with other locations across the country, according to media reports.

 

Marchers carried homemade signs, according to media reports, and many wore T-shirts emblazoned with “Black Lives Matter.”

 

Demonstrators chanted “no justice, no peace, no racist police” during Saturday’s march, which was also addressed by mothers who lost their sons in incidents with police.

 

The mothers said they were planning their own march for Mother’s Day next Sunday.

 

Saturday’s demonstrations marked a mostly peaceful day in Baltimore, following the state attorney’s actions the day before. 

 

Earlier this week, state officials had responded to riots by sending in the National Guard to help keep order in Baltimore, and the mayor placed a curfew on city residents. 

 

Baltimore had become the latest location in recent months featuring unrest between the police and demonstrators. Protests also rang out in Ferguson, Mo., and Staten Island, N.Y., after black men died following confrontations with police. 

 

Police union officials have accused Mosby of rushing to judgment by charging the six officers. But Baltimore residents said the actions of the state’s attorney made them cautiously optimistic, even after what had occurred in recent weeks. 

 

“It’s sad it had to come to this — burning down places that people are going to need,” Baltimore resident Aaron Cook said outside a burned CVS drug store, according to CNN. “Hopefully we get results from this — start treating us like we matter.”