A scheduled “peaceful” demonstration of “support” for the family of the late Freddie Gray in New York City’s Union Square on Wednesday morphed into a flood in the street of marching protesters chanting, “We’ve got your back, Baltimore.”
But New York’s Finest were ahead of them, having prepared hours earlier for the event.
Police even distributed flyers at the demonstration warning they would arrest protesters who walked in the streets instead of on the sidewalks and tried to block traffic or other wise disrupt the daily life of the city.
Within the hour, NYPD officers were arresting protesters who poured into the streets of the city, refusing to stay within the designated areas and instead insisting on marching down the streets and blocking traffic.
Unlike the tolerance allowed to protesters after the Eric Garner death in Staten Island, NYPD officers immediately arrested those who stepped into the street. They also set up mesh fences along the curbs of both sides of the streets to keep the mobs from stepping off the sidewalks.
Protesters also reportedly marched in Boston, Washington and other cities across the U.S., according to numerous media.