A New Mexico protest over deadly police shootings turned to “mayhem,” Albuquerque’s mayor claimed late on Sunday following clashes between officers in riot gear and demonstrators.

Mayor Richard Berry claimed one police officer had been injured and protesters trapped police in a vehicle and tried to break the windows.

“We respected their rights to protest obviously,” Mayor Berry said, “but what it appears we have at this time is individuals who weren’t connected necessarily with the original protest.

“They’ve taken it far beyond a normal protest.”

But journalists reported gas canisters being thrown by officers and Albuquerque police and Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputies charging groups of people dispersing after the protest.

Angry Albuquerque citizens had been protesting against police involvement in 37 shootings, 23 of them fatal, since 2010.

They noted that was far too many for a department serving a city of just over half a million.

The US Justice Department has been investigating the department for more than a year, looking into complaints of civil rights violations and allegations of excessive use of force.

Protester Alexander Siderits said he was participating because he was “fed up” with how police treat citizens. “It has reached a boiling point, and people just can’t take it anymore,” he said.

The Albuquerque Journal estimates that the the city has spent more than $24 million (£14.4m) as a result of police misconduct lawsuits, including a $7.95m (£4.8m) lawsuit by the family of a disturbed man killed while holding a gun to his own head.