New Rallies Planned in Baltimore as Freddie Gray Trials Continue

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Protests of the trial of six police officers implicated in the death of Freddie Gray will continue throughout the legal process because of history of bias in similar cases, advocacy group Peoples Power Assemblies volunteer Sharon Black told Sputnik.

"If we get a bad outcome, will be demonstrating over the weekend," Black said on Wednesday. "There’s another demonstration planned for 6:30 p.m. (10:30 p.m. GMT)."

Earlier on Wednesday, police arrested one person after about 75 demonstrators descended on Baltimore to protest the six policemen's trial. Law enforcement authorities said most protesters are cooperating and not blocking roadways.

The court hearing comes nearly four months after 25-year-old African American Freddie Gray died of spinal cord injuries on April 19 that he sustained in police custody. Followings Gray’s death, riots swept through Baltimore during which the authorities declared a curfew and deployed the Maryland National Guard. Police arrested more than 250 people then.

In May, a grand jury indicted the six Baltimore police officers and they now face charges on counts of assault, manslaughter, false imprisonment and misconduct in office.

Black explained her organization does not expect an immediate ruling in the case, but hopes it will be a just one.

She also noted that a change of venue for the trial to an area away from the place of Gray’s death should not be sought even though there have been precedents in similar cases.

"Remember Rodney King when venues were changed? We’ve seen some of these cases in the past," Black said. "Though the crime took place in Baltimore City, we think justice will be best served in our city and not removed."

Black observed Gray’s case is not the only one the Peoples Power Assemblies has protested, and it will not be the last one they are working on.

"We have done lots of work on police abuses and terror, talked to a lot of folks who are frustrated with no action taken by part of the city on police [that is] out of control," Black said.

She added that Peoples Power Assemblies has been demanding that police are hired from communities they work in, but has been frustrated of the taxpayer money spent on police when it could have been spent on jobs or education.