A woman holds up a sign during a May Day rally in Union Square on Friday, May 1, 2015, in New York. Saying “no one is above the law,” Baltimore’s top prosecutor announced charges Friday for six officers who were involved in the arrest of a black man who suffered a fatal spinal injury in police custody, a decision that comes amid outrage around the country over police brutality against African-Americans.NEW YORK – About 1,000 people are marching in downtown Manhattan at a May Day rally that also has become a protest against police brutality.
Dozens of police officers stood around the perimeter of Union Square Friday evening as demonstrators held signs with such messages as “Disarm the NYPD.” They then began marching downtown.
The demonstration was initially planned as a rally to spotlight income inequality and workers’ and immigrants’ rights.
But participants also are decrying police abuse in the wake of the death of Freddie Gray, a Baltimore man whose neck was broken in police custody.
New York police have been criticized for what some saw as overly aggressive arrests of over 140 protesters Wednesday.
Police Commissioner William Bratton said Friday that demonstrators should work with, not against, officers.