Baltimore police prepare for Gray funeral protests

 

Thousands of people have gathered at a church in Baltimore to attend the funeral service for Freddie Gray.

Gray, 25, died 19 April after an encounter with police a week earlier during which he sustained serious and unexplained spinal injuries.
His death has sparked daily protests, some violent, and has renewed a nationwide debate over police use of lethal force against African Americans.
President Barack Obama has dispatched three officials to the service.
The New Shiloh Baptist Church, which holds 2,500 people, was full as the funeral began with hymns and prayers.

 
On Sunday afternoon, mourners - many of whom did not know Gray - streamed into the funeral home for his wake. They filed past the white coffin, draped with silk, where he laid dressed in a white shirt, black pants, white sneakers and an all-white Los Angeles Dodgers baseball cap.
A floral arrangement sat atop the coffin's lid, while a pillow with a printed picture of Gray and the words "Peace, Y'all" rested at the bottom.
Some mourners stood outside holding signs emblazoned with "We remember Freddie" and "Our Hearts Are With The Gray Family".
"He didn't deserve to die the way he did," said Melissa McDonald, a cousin of Gray's.
The same day, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake appealed for peace after protests the night before turned violent.