Thousands Protest in US over Police Injustices

Local Editor

Thousands of people demonstrated in major US East Coast cities demanding equal treatment for all by police, after a young African American died of injuries sustained in custody in Baltimore.

The biggest show of people power was in Baltimore itself - epicenter of the latest racially tinged unrest to convulse the United States - where several thousand mostly young demonstrators paralyzed city blocks in a major rally through downtown to City Hall.

Furthermore, thousands more protested in New York, the capital Washington and Boston in solidarity, as decades-old simmering anger over police tactics and discrimination again bubbled to the surface.

Though, the protests were overwhelmingly peaceful and good-natured, although New York police arrested more than 60 demonstrators and emotions were running high, with scuffles breaking out.

What appeared to be a growing movement for change was focused on Baltimore, where a rally that started at the main train station included black and white demonstrators, some of them linking arms and chanting: "No justice, no peace! No racists, no peace!"

Accordingly, many in the march were high school or college students.

"We're protesting the ongoing injustices that police have perpetrated on black men particularly. Police are trigger-happy and we need to stop that," Jonathan Brown, 19, a student at Johns Hopkins University said.

Some in the huge crowd held placards, one reading, "Killer cops deserve cell blocks." A few wore shirts with the words, "Amnesty International observer."

The 2,000 National Guard personnel who had flooded Baltimore this week kept a low profile and only small knots of demonstrators remained on the streets when a curfew swept into effect for a second night from 10:00 pm [0200 GMT Thursday] to 5:00 am.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team