Calling for an end to police misconduct and shouting, “Hands up, don’t shoot,” a crowd gathered downtown and at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor yesterday, many with their hands raised in the gesture of submission that a witness says a Missouri teenager displayed before police shot and killed him.

“Police officers can kill at will and there are no consequences,” said Rev. C.D. “Cortly” Witherspoon, president of the local chapter of the Southern Leadership Conference, speaking outside the Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. Courthouse.

“We’re here today states and states away to send a message of unity and solidarity,” Witherspoon said, “because we know that it’s Michael Brown today, but if we don’t take a stand, if we don’t remain vigilant, if we don’t remain steadfast, if we don’t remain un-moveable, it will be our sons tomorrow.”

The protest was a response to the shooting Saturday of Brown by police in Ferguson, just outside of St. Louis. The shooting of the unarmed black 18-year-old has sparked days of clashes between residents and Ferguson’s primarily white police force – spawning images of camouflage-clad officers deploying tear gas and rubber bullets on citizens that captured world-wide attention.

The incident and days of unrest in Ferguson have also sparked a national conversation about police brutality, race and the militarization of local police forces, as well as demonstrations yesterday in cities across the country.

In Baltimore, the marchers started at the Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. Courthouse, then walked to city police headquarters for another round of speeches, invoking the names of city residents who died in encounters with police.

They spoke of Tyrone West and Anthony Anderson and the May death of 19-year-old George V. King who, according to his attorney, expired after being struck by police with a Taser at a city hospital where he was a patient.

At the harbor, a “National Call for a Moment of Silence” was held to show solidarity with all the victims and their families. Similar vigils took place in more than 90 cities across the country, including New York, where thousands gathered in Times Square. At least four people were arrested there on minor charges.

Police said there were no arrests or serious incidents in Baltimore, where the only equipment officers appeared to be aiming at demonstrators were video cameras.
———————————————–
UPDATE on police filming yesterday: From BPD spokesman Eric J. Kowalczyk: “Filming large-scale events is becoming a national best practice and is a way to document all aspects of an event. The recordings document officers’ actions, commands given to units, and interactions between police and members of the public. These recordings also document the decisions made by the Incident Commander in the field. This provides an opportunity for post-event evaluation and critique. Recordings of the public can be used for training, documenting, and ensuring the highest professional standards of officers involved in protecting large-scale gatherings and events.”
_______________________________________________

Below is a video of a portion of the march and vigil, made by Bill Hughes, whose photos of the event can be found here.

And here’s an op-ed by Rev. Dr. Heber Brown, III, published yesterday in The Brew: Ferguson fuels a familiar pain and a call to action in Baltimore.