In Baltimore Grief and Fury Over Freddie Gray’s Death

A night of violence gave way to a day of mourning Sunday for a man who died after sustaining serious injuries while in the custody of Baltimore police.

Pastor Jamal Bryant told the congregation at Empowerment Temple AME Church that "somebody is going to have to pay" for the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died a week after an encounter with police left him with serious injuries.

Bryant told churchgoers, almost all of them black, that if "you're black in America your life is always under threat." Bryant also addressed the violence that erupted Saturday night during what began as a peaceful demonstration attended by more than a thousand people.

Some 34 people were arrested, according to Baltimore Police Department, and six police officers sustained minor injuries. After services were over, Bryant, whose church will pay for Gray's funeral, met with the family. He said after the meeting that they are "holding on" and that they don't want violence.

Bryant said marches and demonstrations would continue but that "violence never leads to justice."

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The Atlantic Magazine reports that Baltimore police have a long track record of police brutality in "The Brutality of Police Culture in Baltimore."

The Guardian reports that a police supervisor suspended after Freddie Gray’s death had a record of  “intimidation and violence.”

A wake was held Sunday afternoon at Vaughn Green East funeral home. Across the street, about 40 sympathizers turned up to show their support. Some held up signs that read, "We remember Freddie" and "Our Hearts Are With The Gray Family."

In the middle of the street, one man held a sign urging motorists to honk their horns in support of Gray. Several bystanders asked him to stop, out of respect for the family. The man left and the honking subsided. However, a block up the street, other people held signs urging drivers to honk, and the honking resumed.

Gray's funeral is planned for Monday.

Police said extra officers would be deployed throughout the city over the weekend.

Fire officials said roughly 1,200 protesters gathered at City Hall on Saturday afternoon to protest Gray's death, which has prompted near-daily demonstrations since he died April 19. Gray was arrested one week before that when officers chased him through a West Baltimore neighborhood and dragged him into a police van.

However, a smaller group splintered off and looted a convenience store and smashed storefront windows. A protester tossed a flaming metal garbage can toward a line of police officers in riot gear as they tried to push back the crowd. Earlier, a group of protesters smashed the windows of at least three police cars.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, a long-time congressman who represents Baltimore's 7th District, told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that there is deep frustration over the case.

"Mr. Gray died a week ago. And I think the thing that upset so many people was the fact that here's a young man. We still don't know exactly why he was arrested," Cummings said. "We do know that he was hollering out for aid. He was not given aid after being arrested. ... A lot of people are very, very frustrated as to trying to figure out what happened here, and it's very upsetting.

Police acknowledged Friday that Gray should have received medical attention at the spot where he was arrested — before he was put inside a police transport van handcuffed and without a seat belt, a violation of the Police Department's policy.

Gray was arrested after he made eye contact with officers and ran away, police said. Officers held him down, handcuffed him and loaded him into the van. While inside, he became irate and leg cuffs were put on him, police have said.

Gray asked for medical help several times, beginning before he was placed in the van. After a 30-minute ride that included three stops, paramedics were called.

Authorities have not explained how or when Gray's spine was injured.