Freddie Gray: Baltimore protests turn violent a week after death of black suspect in police custody

Demonstrations had been peaceful - until Saturday night

Protests in Baltimore over the death of Freddie Gray turned violent (Reuters)

A week after 25-year-old Freddie Gray’s death, protests in his name devolved into chaos in the centre of Baltimore, resulting in the arrest of a dozen protesters and the injury of at least one police officer.

Around 2,000 demonstrators had marched to City Hall on Saturday in a show of solidarity with the family of Mr Gray, who died of a spinal cord injury sustained while in police custody. At around 6.30pm - after calm had prevailed for most of the day - violence erupted, with a group of protesters turning against police, throwing bottles and rocks at officers and smashing the windows of cars and local businesses.

Reports said that more than 100 officers in full tactical gear soon descended on Pratt Street near Camden Yards baseball stadium - where a game between the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox was about to begin- and began to make arrests.

Shouts of “Killers!” and “Hands up don’t shoot!” were heard, reminiscent of similar protests in Ferguson and New York City last year.

Mr Gray’s death is the latest in a series of high-profile, fatal encounters between police and black men. With the shootings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Walter Scott in Charleston, South Carolina, and the chokehold death of Eric Garner in New York City, lingering questions surrounding Mr Gray’s arrest and fatal injuries have been the source of intense public outcry.

An internal police investigation is ongoing, and six police officers connected to the case have been suspended. Mr Gray was arrested on April 12 in West Baltimore, and was struggling to walk, breathe, and talk by the time he arrived at the police station. He would die a week later from his injuries.

According to Baltimore Policer Commissioner Anthony Batts, the officers in question disregarded multiple regulations and repeatedly failed to provide Mr Gray with adequate medical assistance.

In response to Saturday’s violence, Mr Batts, along with Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, condemned the offending demonstrators and called for peace.

“I am profoundly disappointed to see the violence in our city this evening,” she said, according to Reuters. ”Now is a time for calm, for peace and for prayer.”

That sentiment was reiterated by Mr Gray’s twin sister, Fredericka. “Freddie's father and mother do not want violence,” she said. “Violence does not get justice.”