On Wednesday more then 143 protestors were arrested by NYPD over the death of Freddie Gray, a man who died from a Spinal injury under police custody in Baltimore, Maryland.

It started on Union Square in Manhattan where people all over got together to march the streets of New York city, making their way up to Midtown, Downtown while others blocked the entrance of the Holland Tunnel, over the death of Freddie Gray. Organizers called it ” The Rise Up and Shut It Down Protest”, but once protestors started to stray from the sidewalks and block traffic people started to get arrested. People expressed that these arrests were unjustified, where protestors were aggressively put in cuffs by the NYPD on Wednesday evening.

One protestor stated ” what we are trying to do is a Peaceful demonstration. I understand people can get agitated at times, but at the end of the day we are not doing anything wrong but walking”. Another stated ” nobody is winning in this situation but I need to show my support, when I heard about this rally I said there was no other place to be but here”. “We believe this country can be better, that’s why we are here protesting” stated another.

In a press conference on Thursday Mayor Bill De Blasio defended the NYPD by stating ” Ive participated in plenty of protests on plenty of issues and I deeply believe in how nonviolent protests have achieved social change”. “People who want to work on this issue, here is an easy piece of advice.. pay attention to NYPD instructions and everything will be fine”. As per the mayor, the NYPD knows how to work out any situation and instructed protestors to stay on the sidewalk.

There were 116 arrests for violations including disorderly conduct, unlawful possession of marijuana and violation of transit rules. 25 misdemeanors which included resisting arrest and reckless endangerment, two arrests for felonies that were both for assault.

Twiiter@Msredbomb
Instagram@mdotjane

Source: Newsweek