Remembering Freddie Gray One Year After His Death & Protests

This week marked the one-year anniversary since protests erupted in Baltimore, Maryland following the death of Freddie Gray, who passed away from injuries sustained in police custody.

Protesters, angry about the use of excessive force by police in communities of color, took to the streets after his funeral on April 27, 2015, some clashing with police and law enforcement authorities.

Gray was arrested on April 12, 2015. Video recorded of the incident shows the struggling 25-year-old moaning in pain. Medical reports revealed he’d suffered a severe spinal injury while being transported off the scene.

He died a week later and unrest erupted, prompting the Orioles to cancel their home game, the mayor to issue a curfew, and schools to close. The late Prince made his way to Baltimore just two weeks after to offer his support.

In a “Rally 4 Peace” benefit concert at Royal Farms Arena, Prince offered the following statement: “The system is broken. It’s going to take the young people to fix it this time. We need new ideas, new life. … Next time I come to Baltimore I want to stay in a hotel owned by you,” he said. “There’s a lot of young people in here tonight and we believe in you…”

Last year, CNN timelined April 27 as follows:

11:00 a.m. — The funeral for Freddie Gray is set to begin.

1:42 p.m. — The casket holding Freddie Gray’s body is loaded onto the hearse.

3:00 p.m. — A so-called flier from a local high school says that a “purge” is scheduled to start, according to the Baltimore Sun. The film “The Purge” is about a dystopian society in which crime is low in the United States because all laws are suspended for one 24-hour period every year.

3:30 p.m. — Dozens of police can be seen gathered on the streets of Baltimore.

3:34 p.m. — Protesters begin to confront riot police.

3:41 p.m. — CNN reports that protesters are beginning to throw bottles at police officers and journalists.

3:49 p.m. — CNN cameras show a police officer being carried off.

3:51 p.m. — Helicopter footage from CNN affiliate WJLA captures white smoke billowing up from the street. Neill Franklin, a former Maryland state police officer, tells CNN “it’s like the perfect place for something like this to occur.”

4:27 p.m. — WJLA’s helicopter records people wrecking a police car.

4:29 p.m. — Baltimore Police tweet out first reports of bottles and bricks being thrown at officers.

4:44 p.m. — People begin entering a CVS pharmacy. The store was closed at 3 p.m., the company said.

5:51 p.m. — Baltimore police report a massive fire at Federal Street and Gay Street.

6:19 p.m. — The gates at Camden Yards, home of Major League Baseball’s Baltimore Orioles, can be seen being closed.

6:26 p.m. — The CVS that was looted goes up in smoke.

6:47 p.m. — Gov. Larry Hogan’s office announces that all previously scheduled events on his calendar on Tuesday will be canceled.

6:50 p.m. — A man can be seen on CNN stabbing a hose that firefighters are trying to use.

7:01 p.m. — Gov. Larry Hogan’s office announces that he has declared a state of emergency and will active the National Guard to address the unrest in Baltimore.

7:20 p.m. — The Orioles announce they’ve postponed Monday night’s game.

7:58 p.m. — Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announces that a citywide, nightly curfew will be imposed starting Tuesday from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. It will be in effect for one week, Rawlings-Blake said at a press conference.

8:51 p.m. — Col. William Pallozzi of the Maryland State Police announces that up to 5,000 law enforcement officials will be requested from the mid-Atlantic region to help quell the violence in Baltimore.

9:23 p.m. — Public schools will be closed on Tuesday in Baltimore, a city official says.

In an effort to reshape Baltimore as a city, activists and community leaders came together Wednesday to host prayer services, restoration events, and more.

Rest in peace, Freddie Gray.

SOURCE: CNN | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty

SEE ALSO:

Freddie Gray Prosecutors Hope To Force Another Officer To Testify

Remembering Freddie Gray One Year After His Death & Protests  was originally published on newsone.com