Anti-police protests gain momentum across US

Protests over the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year African American from Baltimore who died in police custody, have stretched coast to coast in the United States.

Rallies for Freddie Gray were held in New York, Massachusetts, Colorado, Washington, and California on Wednesday.

The most notable protest gathering was in New York City, not too far from Baltimore, where police said over 100 people were arrested Wednesday after over a 1,000 of them gathered in the landmark Union Square.

A protester is being carried away by police in New York City on Wednesday.

In the east coast of America, more than 500 protesters took to the streets and marched through Boston chanting, “Hands up! Don’t shoot,” among other slogans.

Hundreds joined an anti-police brutality demonstration in Boston, Massachusetts, on Wednesday.

In Denver, Colorado, police attacked civil liberties demonstrators, including high school students, with pepper spray. Eight men and three women were also arrested for “resisting police, disobedience to lawful orders, obstructing roadways, and interference,” according to the authorities who were at the scene.

In Denver, almost a dozen demonstrators were arrested on Wednesday.

In Washington, in the west coast, anti-police brutality demonstrators marched in downtown Seattle, chanting slogans against the “police murder” of Freddie Gray.

“Our message here is that we are standing here with the defiant ones, which sends a very powerful message that they aren’t going to tolerate police murder and the days of living with this are over,” said Emma Kaplan, the organizer of the march there.

Civil rights protesters took to the streets in Washington to express anger at police brutality.

Further down south in the west coast of the US in San Diego, hundreds more held a relatively big rally chanting, “We will fight for Freddie Gray, all day, all night!”

Protesters in California rallied against “racial killings” by police.

In Baltimore itself, the epicenter of the demonstrations, protesters defied a curfew and shouted slogans against the government for “allowing police brutality against blacks.”

Protests there, in recent days got out of control after clashes between civil rights demonstrators and police erupted leading to riots and looting across the city.

As a result, dozens of protesters and police were injured and many more demonstrators were arrested since Sunday.

Freddie Gray died on April 19, a week after an encounter with police that left him with grave spinal injuries. Authorities have not explained how or when his spine was injured.

Baltimore is under a state of emergency with 3,000 armed members of the National Guard policing the city.