by Our Foreign Desk

THOUSANDS of protesters took to the streets of Baltimore, Maryland, on Saturday to demand answers over the death of black man Freddie Gray in police custody.

Mr Gray died on April 19 after suffering a fatal spinal injury while locked up.

Baltimore authorities have not explained how his spine was injured.

Video showed him being dragged into a police van and it was about 30 minutes before paramedics were called.

The protests came a day after Deputy Commissioner Kevin Davis admitted that Mr Gray should have received medical attention before he was handcuffed and put in a police van.

Saturday’s protest was the largest since the 25-year-old died and the protesters were in no mood for excuses.

After hours of peaceful demonstration, pockets of protesters smashed police car and shop windows.

Protesters threw cans and plastic bottles in the direction of police officers.

At least two people were hurt in the clash, with a dozen arrested.

The crowd paused for a moment of silence in front of Shock Trauma, the hospital in which Mr Gray died.

Signs in hand, with slogans such as “Jail Killer Police” and “Unite Here,” demonstrators filled two city blocks as they marched to City Hall.
Mr Gray’s twin sister, Fredricka, appealed for calm.

“My family wants to say: can you all please, please stop the violence?” she said. “Freddie would not want this.”

Police Commissioner Anthony Batts claims that he’s sacked 50 police employees and reduced officer-involved shootings.

But he acknowledges that some cases have “tarnished this badge and the reputation of the department.”

Mr Gray was at least the fifth black man to die at police hands since Mr Batts took charge.

An investigation revealed last year that the city had paid roughly $5.7 million (£3.7m) to settle police brutality cases since 2011, involving 102 instances of excessive force.

In 2010, civil rights groups ACLU and NAACP reached an $870,000 (£572,000) settlement with the city requiring police to track their arrests.

But in 2012, Baltimore officers still couldn’t justify 35 per cent of the arrests.