A day after several hundred people gathered near Philadelphia's City Hall to protest Freddie Gray's police-custody death in Baltimore before marching onto city streets and blocking traffic for hours, a smaller "Philly Is Baltimore"-like demonstration took to city streets.
Friday's protest, which featured dozens of people marching behind a sign that says "TurnUp 4 BMore," started 10th and South streets before moving toward 12th and Arch streets in Chinatown shortly after 7 p.m. then toward City Hall. The group then walked toward the Rittenhouse Square area as police flanked them on both sides.
Estimates were that police might have outnumbered protesters as they moved toward the Benjamin Franklin Parkway -- weaving in and out cars. The protest slowly lost steam as it continued.
Police didn't arrest anyone at Friday's protest.
Philadelphia Police said this demonstration is similar in purpose to Thursday's rally. Organizers of the "Philly is Baltimore" protest, which brought hundreds of demonstrators to Center City Thursday, compare the December shooting death of Brandon Tate-Brown in Philadelphia to the April 19 death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore. The protesters also raised concerns about community and police relations in Philadelphia.
Up to 800 protesters took place in Thursday's rally that lasted most of the night and stayed mostly peaceful except when the protesters and police clashed near the 15th Street entrance to the Vine Street Expressway (I-676). Two protesters were arrested and some officers suffered minor injuries.
