Baltimore police took several people into custody minutes after a 10 p.m. curfew went into effect Saturday, after the emergency measure was continued for a fifth night despite a day of peaceful rallies over the death of Freddie Gray.
Police did not immediately say how many people were arrested. At least three women and two men were seen being put into a police van at Pennsylvania and North avenues, near a CVS pharmacy that was burned during unrest Monday.
Police were seen dragging one man after his arrest shortly after the curfew, and officers used pepper spray which was followed by a few bottles being tossed at officers. The intersection at Pennsylvania and North was empty by around 11 p.m.
A planned protest over the death of Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died of a spinal injury he suffered while in police custody, turned into a celebratory rally Saturday after charges were announced for six officers involved on Friday.
"The violence of last Monday was unprecedented," Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said earlier Saturday when announcing the curfew would remain in effect. "Tonight, we see some of the same people in Baltimore who were here last Monday," he said at that time.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland on Saturday called for the curfew to be lifted, blasting the order as "nothing more than a tool for curtailing the First Amendment rights of peaceful demonstrators, legal observers, and the news media."
Police said 15 people were arrested for violating the curfew Thursday night. Thirty-seven were arrested Wednesday night for violating the order, police said.
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake ordered the 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew on Tuesday, a day after 15 structures and more than 100 vehicles were set on fire Monday night. The National Guard was also deployed.
"This has not been easy for us to do," National Guard Maj. Gen. Linda Singh, a Maryland native, told reporters earlier Saturday. "But the most important thing is your safety, the safety of all the infrastructure that's here because without that, we do not have a Baltimore,"
IN-DEPTH
- Baltimore Curfew Remains in Place After Peaceful Rallies
- Police Commissioner Says 'Truth Will Come Out' in Gray Case
- Aggressive Policing, Series of Errors Blames in Freddie Gray Death
