BALTIMORE— Hundreds of protesters(抗议者)gathered Thursday in downtown Baltimore, in the eastern U.S. state of Maryland, to again demand changes to the justice system following the death of a 25-year-old man taken into police custody(拘留)last week.
Officials arrested two people for disorderly conduct in what was otherwise a loud but peaceful protest as the city awaits more information from authorities about how Freddie Gray died.
With hands and voices raised, protesters marched for hours around Baltimore.
Starting between City Hall and police headquarters, the crowd stopped traffic to demand responsibility from local officials for what they said was an act of police cruelty.
Among the protesters: Pastor Jamal Bryant, who helped organize the event. He wants improvements for the majority-black-city's residents, and changes across the country.
"This was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. This isn't a new incident. We're seeing the same thing in the whole country, and now right here in Baltimore that there's got to be an overhaul (彻底检查)of the complete system," Bryant said.
Also at the rally was Kiona Mack, who pulled out her phone to record as police arrested Gray on April 12 and dragged him to a police car.
"There's a lot of Freddie Grays and this is not the first time that the police violated somebody's rights and murdered somebody," said Mack, of Sandtown.
Later in the afternoon, area families joined nonviolent protesters outside the heavily guarded police station, Baltimore police officials say they will have more answers for the public next week about what happened to Gray while he was in their custody.
No matter the outcome of the local and federal investigations under way, local NAACP President Tessa Aston-Hill said great change is needed to work against the damage to the community.
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