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Hundreds Converge At War Memorial Plaza In Baltimore; Duchess Kate And Prince William Have Baby Girl; Aired 1-2p ET

Aired May 02, 2015 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:00:00] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone. Thanks for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, live in Baltimore.

We are one hour away from a big youth rally right here in Baltimore. Although it sounds like it's under way. The stage is set. This will end up being the final destination here, city hall. Right now, there are hundreds of people, at least that's what it appears from our bird's-eye view, maybe even dozens of people, right now walking through the streets of Baltimore and they're walking about a three to four-mile path through the streets. And then making their way right here to the war memorial plaza outside of this city hall.

They're all doing this, rally and support of Freddie Gray. The 25- year-old man who died in police custody last month. There is a feeling among many jubilation that there were charges imposed against six police officers but at the same time many people reserving comment because they say it's still early in the investigation.

We have a teal of reporters around the city covering today's demonstrations. Right now you're looking at a shot of the six police officers. But we also have CNN correspondents Sara Sidner, Nick Valencia, Ryan Young, and Rene Marsh, all dispersed in various parts of the city right there.

Let's first go to Sara Sidner who is right here in this park.

Sara, while this is a final destination it already seems like a rally that is very much under way.

SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Very much is. And what you're kind of feeling right now is not angry demonstrations. What you're feeling is more of a community coming together, trying to get to know one another, and dancing together. It feels more almost celebratory, happy of to be together, to be here. But here, certainly a very serious cause. A lot of here, I'm looking in the crowd, there was the leader of the crypts gang is here. We saw folks, the Black Panthers also here.

I want to give you a look. You know, you can see, you know, some of the different folks that are here. But there are black folks. There are white folks. There are people from all different walks of life. Kids and grandparents as well. What is beautiful about this one, is you see people altogether from all these different ethnicities. They're all dancing together. The music are bringing them together here. We're expecting a lot of folks to come out and to demonstrate because there is a very serious issue that of course you know of and the world now knows of, what happened to Freddie Gray when he was in that van with police -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sara Sidner, thank you so much.

We are also looking at that aerial view right there of a dozen of people now marching through downtown Baltimore walking through neighborhood streets, walking through business districts, as well, on their way here.

And we understand our Nick Valencia is somewhere in the crush there with many demonstrators making their way. He's joining us live now. Nick?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Fred. I'm actually at the site where Freddie Gray was arrested and you see this crowd behind me has slowly been gathering over the course of probably the last 30 minutes to an hour. It's blossomed to just about a hundred people, I'd say. And among them is former Baltimore mayor, Sheila Dixon.

Miss Dixon, thank you so much for being on CNN. You were, at one time, representing this as a city council. What it's like to be back? What brought you out here today?

SHEILA DIXON, FORMER BALTIMORE MAYOR: Well, I came out today because some of the young men who grew up in the community, who are friends of Freddie Gray have a message that they want to get across. They have a plan of action. They asked me to come out, to support their efforts, and I respect those young men. I want to be a part of their efforts. And I believe that we need to listen to them because I think they have what the next steps are in moving this process forward, as far as what happens in empower, continuing to empower this community.

VALENCIA: Just a handful of years ago, you were one time the head of the city in Baltimore. How have you, over the course of last several days, internalized what's happened in your city?

DIXON: Well, of course it brings much heart pain and distress about what's happened. Of course, first and foremost to Freddie Gray, and then, secondly, the injustice of what's happening to young African- American men all over the country. You know, people in this community who live here in Baltimore are frustrated. They have expressed it through their daily peaceful protesting and we have to continue to do that. Yesterday the decision that the state's attorney made is taking it to another step.

[13:05:00] VALENCIA: What did you think of is that? It was very dynamic to be up there, what did you think?

DIXON: Not only dynamic but she had to bring forth truth and justice for injustice. And believe me, we have great officers in this city. But when you have individuals who are not following the laws and treating people right, it has to be dealt with. Not only going through the process. But in the meantime we have to continue to build on these communities that are in distress and this is one of them.

VALENCIA: And that's why people are out here to build on that message, to go forward and hopefully focus on a conversation of healing. People don't want Monday to represent the city. You saw the images, the infamous scene at the CVS, they don't want that to be a focus of the narrative here in this community. That's why you've seen people here from North Carolina, from Boston, from all across the country, to show up here, not just seek justice for Freddie Gray, they say, but also of litany of names who have been unarmed civilians who have been injured or killed at hands of police officers. This group making their way in a very short time on their way to city hall continuing on with their peaceful demonstrations -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Nick Valencia, thank you so much.

Let's move on to CNN's Rene Marsh. She is at North Avenue in Pennsylvania, another location where many demonstrators have been gathering.

So, Rene, what's happening there?

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION AND GOVERNMENT REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, when you look around here, really looks like an average Saturday, this is a barber shop behind me. Is it open for business. They're selling t-shirts outside. And right in this intersection, I happen to bump into the man who shot that video. You may not know his name, his name is Kevin Moore, but you undoubtedly know the video that he shot. He is the one who shot that cell phone video of Freddie Gray as he was being arrested. Well, this was Kevin Moore's first television interview since the charges were filed against those six officers. Here's what he had to say about playing a hand or playing a role in all of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN MOORE, VIDEOTAPED FREDDIE GRAY'S ARREST: My natural instinct was to cry. I couldn't believe it. It was surreal.

MARSH: Why did you cry?

MOORE: Because -- it's a shame, right, that it took so many people to come together and unify because my friend Freddie died. I wish we could have did it on another occasion. A black history month occasion, Martin Luther King's birthday, any other occasion, why it has to be a death of one of my friends?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH: All right. You know, as he was walking around the neighborhood, you just would see he couldn't take a step before somebody else stopped him to say, thank you. That's all they wanted to say is thank you for being there and shooting that video. He's a part of a group called Cop Watch. He is with -- they essentially walk around with hand-held video cameras and when they see a situation between the police as well as someone in the community and they think that the procedure or process isn't quite right they start rolling. That's exactly what he did when he saw Freddie Gray and his interaction with police and says he will continue to do that.

He also tells me that he was down here, he was protesting and that he was arrested at a certain point. He's made it out, obviously. But he said he wasn't quite sure why he was arrested and he's not quite sure if after shooting that video he will become a target of police but he said he doesn't care. He will continue to do what he has been doing, which is walking around town, and in his words, his camera will be fully locked and loaded and ready to shoot if he sees another incident. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. Rene Marsh, thank you so much. Impactful words coming from Kevin Moore there who captured those images. And out thanks to Nick Valencia and his interview with the former mayor, Sheila Dixon, as well as Sara Sidner in the crowd.

We are going to check back with them.

So we have heard from the former Baltimore mayor, Kurt Schmoke, we have heard the former mayor Dixon and we are anxious to hear more from the current mayor. Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has already came out. She already came out after that press conference from the state attorney saying that she was sickened to hear about the charges imposed on the six officers. But we still invite her to come on the program. I was scheduled interview her yesterday and of course because of the events yesterday that was canceled. We're still inviting ex tending our invitation from the mayor to hear her sentiment on what now for this case and for this city.

All right, let's talk more about the case. And what about the relationship between police and the community here? I'm joined by Joey Jackson, he is HLN's legal analyst and criminal defense attorney. Also with me, Cheryl Dorsey, retired Los Angeles police sergeant and a member of the national coalition of law enforcement officers for justice.

All right, good to see both of you again.

So as we talk about dozens if not hundreds, maybe thousands of people, who will be walking through the city, neighborhoods, business districts and ending up here at city hall, they will be met by a very significant presence of Baltimore police, police from neighboring communities, I saw Howard county, which is a neighboring county here and they're also going to see National Guard.

So Cheryl, what is the message that ends up being sent to demonstrators in the community here when you have six police officers who are charged in the death of a 25-year-old unarmed man and, at the same time, the police are here in place to help maintain peace?

[13:10:44] CHERYL DORSEY, RETIRED LAPD POLICE SERGEANT: Well, I hope the message is that when we find wrong doers we're going to do right thing. And so, we'll honor those officers doing their job diligently, professionally, treating people with compassion and empathy, as I'm sure most of the officers on the Baltimore police department do. But when we run across those rare few that use excessive force and abuse people under the color of authority, then we'll deal with them appropriately.

And so, I don't have any inclination to think that these officers here today are going to do anything except be professional in the discharge of their duties as they deal with protesters that are coming.

WHITFIELD: All right. Joey, I'm going to ask you a few questions in a moment, as well. Cheryl, thanks so much.

I have to go to Sunlen Serfaty in Washington with more news -- Sunlen.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Fred. And we'll continue our coverage in Baltimore in just a moment. But first, breaking news out of London. We're seeing right now the first picture of the new royal family, an eight-pound, three-ounce baby girl was just born at 8:34 a.m. London time this morning. There you see the duchess of Cambridge and Prince William walking out of the wing of the hospital.

Let's also get to CNN's Erin McLaughlin who is outside of Kensington palace. I have to say, this is a pretty stunning picture with the new baby girl. Let's listen in to the crowd right now. Crowds have been outside for a few days. They're waiting for birth of this baby girl.

The duchess of Cambridge gave birth at 8:34 a.m. this morning London time and leaving the hospital, nine hours later. We know that earlier today they got a visit from prince George. The prince was brought by prince William into the hospital to meet his new, younger sister. A brief photo op with the new royal family. They will go from here back to Kensington palace. But this is the debut of their new baby girl. Much anticipated.

And it will be interesting to see, you see the range rover pull up in front of the hospital. Last time in July of 2013, when Prince George was born, we saw Prince William, a likable moment, he got out and carried the car seat around, he kind of fumbled a little bit with the car seat. And put prince George in the back. It will be interesting to see if we see him do the same thing with the new baby girl.

Now I want to go to CNN's Erin McLaughlin outside Kensington palace.

Erin, tell me the mood there.

OK. We're having problems connecting with Erin. But as you can see, this was moments ago. The duchess of Cambridge holding her new baby girl. We know that baby girl was eight pounds, three ounces, born I should say just nine hours ago. Pretty remarkable that we're seeing the duchess walk down those steps carrying her new baby girl.

Once the announcement was made there was a formal announcement this morning. The formal announcement put out on easel in front of Kensington palace formally announcing the birth of this baby girl.

We have, you know, that the baby girl was eight pounds three ounces, this is their second child. Prince George was born two years ago, July of 2013. And much has been said, of course, about the way prince William and the duchess of Cambridge have really become and grown into their role as a family. They've taken certain steps, of course, to define themselves as new parents and much anticipation, of course. There were fans and reporters lining up outside of the window wing in the Saint Mary's hospital outside of London waiting for the birth of this new baby. And it was a surprise today when it was announced that this is a new baby girl, the duchess and Prince William did not know the sex ahead of time. So they just learned it this morning when the duchess gave birth.

There you are seeing, this happened just moments ago, coming out of the hospital. We do have CNN's Erin McLaughlin outside of the palace.

Erin, what's the mood?

[13:15:11] ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Can I say -- can I just say what a beautiful, beautiful family. People here outside Buckingham palace could not be happier for Kate and William and their brand-new baby girl. And this is a day that is truly steeped in history as well. Joining me now is royal historian Kate Williams.

Kate, what do you think of all of this? This is a truly historic moment.

KATE WILLIAMS, ROYAL HISTORIAN: Truly historic moment. That's part of the excitement of the crowds here, cueing up to see the birth announcement because they are seeing a part of history. This will be possibly a future queen, but certainly a very significant member of the royal family and they will be responsible for taking the royal family through into our new century.

MCLAUGHLIN: And talk to me, there has been so much speculation about potential name for the royal baby girl. We don't know the name yet.

WILLIAMS: We don't know the name yet. Huge amounts of money here in Britain. We are fond on betting on names, have been betting on names. The front-runner is now Charlotte, that is ahead, I believe, Allison Charlotte always been quite far forward.

What the royals are looking for are very traditional names that was used before. So we probably won't see something completely out there, nothing invented but that's what Victoria's name was when she was christened. But actually, what we've got here is Elizabeth, the queen's name, Alice is the Prince Philip's mother, an also a child of Victoria, lovely name. Here they are.

MCLAUGHLIN: Here we go. They're leaving now. There's prince William with his brand-new baby girl. Let's make sure he gets the car seat right.

WILLIAMS: He did it so well with prince William, put in the car seat marvelously. There he goes. So they are, of course, most people would say, in the hospital for the night but want to go, they want to get back to Kensington and they will probably go to Norfolk tomorrow.

MCLAUGHLIN: I don't think -- was the duchess joining him? I may have missed that.

WILLIAMS: No I didn't see her get in.

MCLAUGHLIN: I didn't see her get into the car.

And there they go. This is -- a royal baby girl, certainly something that Prince Charles said he wanted. Queen Elizabeth certainly wanted. It is a royal baby girl something that Princess Diana would have wanted as well.

WILLIAMS: Definitely. We know that Diana wanted a daughter. We know that Prince Charles has said he wants a granddaughter. We could see the joy on the queen's face today when she was wearing pink, smiling away. I think the family are completely delighted. Of course, they would have been pleased with a son. But a daughter is really delightful.

And I know a lot of historians would rather hoping for it is a boy when it was Prince George, but it would have been a female monarch. But still, it's so marvelous to see a little princess. And I think so many little girls in Britain, they adore princesses, princess crazy, they're going to be the princess of Cambridge crazy.

MCLAUGHLIN: Kate Williams, thank you so much. Back to you. London is celebrating tonight the birth of a brand-new baby girl.

SERFATY: Thanks, Erin. And we will have more from our coverage live out of Baltimore coming up after the break.

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[13:21:21] WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back to Baltimore. We're live. And it's very noisy here because within moments many people who are walking through streets of Baltimore will converge here for a big youth rally. Although, when you listen to the music, it sounds like the rallies under way.

So I'm going to continue my conversation with HLN's Joey Jackson, legal analyst and criminal defense attorney. Also with me, Cheryl Dorsey, she is a retired Los Angeles police sergeant and a member of the national coalition of law enforcement officers for justice.

All right, glad you guys can hang with us. I know we're all excited about the new princess, however, we were all commenting, we couldn't help it. Who looks that good after having birth hours after with high heels? No fair.

DORSEY: Eight pounds at that. So it's a big baby.

WHITFIELD: I know. Well, that is nice little departure. But back here, the big concern has been the case involving Freddie Gray's death and the six police officers who are now facing some very serious charges. I ask you earlier about the message being sent when you have six police officers who are charged in a death like this and then you have peaceful protesters who will converge here and they met by police presence and National Guard. The mixed message it sends.

So I want to get your response on that now, Joey, because the prosecutor said it is her hope that moving forward with these charges would be an answer to the call from the community.

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Right. You know, listen, Fredricka, it's about ultimately finding accountability. And I certainly believe that the police who are out here, and they've been very friendly and gracious and wonderful cause for sure, in addition to the members of the crowd, they can separate the two. If there are bad people, and in the indictment the county attorney was very clear, the state attorney said, look, the police we honor you, we salute you, however, those who have engaged in acts of injustice need to be held accountable. That's what the indictment does.

And so for protesters who are here, who are doing honorable things, exercising their first amount right, we all have the right it should be exercised as long as it's done peacefully. And that's what they're here for, Fredricka, to restore peace and order. But in terms of indictments there's a long way moving forward. An indictment as remainder is a mere accusation. It's an accusation that is really two things. One --

WHITFIELD: And we weren't there yet, the indictment.

JACKSON: Exactly. Probable cause to believe a crime was committed and, b, that in fact, it was these police officer whose did it. And so, the reality is, is that that's what they'll pursue. But we are a long way to go in this particular case.

WHITFIELD: These officers all surrendered voluntarily and they all posted bond between $200,000 and $300,000. They had to interact with their fellow officers during the entire process. What has been your experience as a former LAPD sergeant whenever an investigation involved one of your own, what was that relationship like between the brothers and sisters of police?

DORSEY: You know, you are torn because you have an affinity for that person but at the same time, you have a job to do going forward. And so, at least on Los Angeles police department, you know, we're not allowed to associate with known felons. And so, we have had to step away in those instances when it was someone that we knew who happened to be a police officer was accused of a crime. And so, that's just the way it is, you know. Chips fall where they may.

WHITFIELD: How uncomfortable might it be for these Baltimore police officer, some of whom are posted out here for the protest or some of whom, you know, are depending to the end the actions of the officers especially when you hear the fraternal order of police attorney who says they did nothing wrong, there was a rush to judgment.

[13:25:02] DORSEY: You know, my guess is that there's probably a segment among those officers who feel like this a little too celebratory, this is almost like an in your face, officer, right? And so, I'm sure there are some that are probably taken aback by it. But at the same time, they have a job to do and they have a professional front to show to the public. And so, they will do that in their demeanor and their command presence and the way they stand guard, if you will, today. And so, I think by and large that the majority of the officers are going to do right thing going forward. WHITFIELD: All right, we are going to leave it there. Cheryl Dorsey

and Joey Jackson, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

All right, we are going to have much more from city hall here. Again, you are hearing a lot of the music because ultimately there will be people in the form of dozens, if not hundreds, you're seeing right there walking through the streets of Baltimore. They will converge here for what is being dubbed a youth rally here the city hall.

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[13:29:38] WHITFIELD: Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Live in the NEWSROOM in Baltimore.

And you're hearing a lot of noise behind me because this is the destination for a youth rally here at the war memorial plaza just outside of city hall. I want to give you some perspective. As you see on right-hand side of the screen, dozens if not hundreds of people walking through the streets of Baltimore on their way to this location. It's about a three or four-mile walk, we believe they're more than halfway to the destination point right here at city hall.

But take a look at this plaza, which is now filled with a number of people. There's a lot of music. It is a little complicated because there is a jubilant feeling here because people feel like the road to justice is now on its way as a result of the state's attorney charging six police officers in the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray. At the same time, there is some trepidation because the process is really just beginning with these charges, there still has to be an indictment. There still has to be a trial. And of course, an outcome. And the investigation continues. We heard that from the state's attorney yesterday.

But let's talk right now while people are making their way through the sunny streets now of Baltimore and making their way here to city hall, let's talk more about the homicide findings.

I want to talk again with a medical examiner, as she examines the outcome of what we believe to be the report that this prosecutor certainly relied upon as well as an independent investigation that Marilyn Mosby said was conducted.

Dr. Judy Melinek is back with us now from San Francisco. She is a board-certified forensic pathologist and author of "working stiff."

And I'm sorry, doctor, if it seems like I'm yelling but the noise, volume of music is getting louder. So I want to make sure that you and everyone at home can hear me.

So Doctor Melinek, earlier you talked about your belief or an inference that perhaps the injuries, the fatal injuries, what became the fatal injuries for Mr. Gray likely happened at the takedown with his voice box being damaged as well as his spine being damaged, but perhaps it was exacerbated once in the van. That is contrary to what we heard from the prosecutor, however, yesterday, doctor. The prosecutor said that the injuries, based on her report, indicated that the fatal injury happened in the van. So explain to me how it might be -- how a further examination might take place or how a conclusion may change.

[13:32:26] DR. JUDY MELINEK, AUTHOR, WORKING STIFF: So the important thing to understand we don't have the medical examiner's report yet. That medical examiner's report has not been made public. It was only released to the state attorney. And the state attorney's interpretation of the findings are based on only the current investigation. So additional investigation can change how we interpret the findings.

That said I didn't say earlier that I thought it happened during takedown, I said it could have still occurred during takedown and been exacerbated. The key finding here is that we know the injuries from the autopsy have documented that this is blunt force trauma and the medical examiner determined it was a homicide. Homicide means death at hand of another.

What we still don't know, and it's not going to be clear for a while, when injuries occurred. There could been some injury that occurred during the takedown, possibly before the video was even started, that is going to be elucidated by the witnesses who saw the takedown. And there could have been injury in the van during the stops before the second witness, who was also put in the van, heard banging.

So, we still don't have a complete investigation here. We still don't have the autopsy report. What we have is secondhand information from what the attorney general said about the autopsy report.

WHITFIELD: OK. So, Dr. Melinek, how about is we look at video tape of that Kevin Moore, who Rene Marsh spoke to earlier today. He took the videotape that everyone is so familiar with. And that video shows a portion of that takedown, that arrest, how Freddie Gray is now being lifted there. And I think you had mentioned earlier your observation of the way in which his head is positioned and one of his legs. What do you see in that video as -- and I guess what do you see now knowing what the prosecutor is trying to reveal to us, medical examiner's report says?

MELINEK: So, what I see is as important as also what I don't see. What I don't see is what happened before the video started. And witnesses say that they were running after him, he went down, I don't know how hard he went down. I don't know if any of them put pressure on his neck or back during that takedown. We see the video starting only after he's cuffed and lifted. But while you watch limb being dragged you see that he's not really moving his legs.

Now, at a certain point once they get him up on to the van, he appears to support his weight, at least for a period of time, but then we also don't know if he was initially seated and then later put down on his belly. So there's a gap in terms of the investigation about what happened in the van in between when the video ends and he gets put in and when he finally becomes unresponsive.

And those gaps, that witness testimony, what people heard what people saw, that's going to help elucidate when the injuries occurred because the autopsy only tells you the end point. Autopsies can't tell you when injuries occurred unless the injuries are separated in time by days or weeks. When injury occur within moments of each other or hours of each other, they look the same at the point of death at the time of autopsy. They look like they're contemporaneous.

[13:36:03] WHITFIELD: All right. So the time line for this discovery will still have to be made.

All right, Dr. Judy Melinek, thank you so much for your time. Appreciate it, from San Francisco.

MELINEK: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And again, we are continuing to watch the demonstrators move through the streets of Baltimore on their way here to city hall. Live coverage continues right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:40:09] WHITFIELD: Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Welcome to NEWSROOM here in Baltimore where the music here at city hall has been replaced by the spoken word. We heard one of the speakers say, this is a celebration today of the life of 25-year-old Freddie Gray.

As you see on right-hand side of the screen, hundreds of people who are walking through the streets of Baltimore in solidarity for Freddie Gray. And this coming one day after the state's attorney then put forth charges against six police officers, all of whom have surrendered and all of whom have posted bond.

I want to go now to our Nick Valencia who is there in the crowd of people who are walking through downtown Baltimore who will eventually make their way right here to the war memorial plaza at city hall -- Nick.

VALENCIA: Good afternoon, Fredricka. You can see this march just started a few minutes ago. They plan on meeting up with more and encouraging others that are watching on the sidewalks to join in their movement. I'm joined next to me with one of the organizers of that. Tell us your name.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good evening. My name is Frank (INAUDIBLE) and I'm happy to be part of the resistance against police murder, oppression and racism. As you can see, many people throughout the nation are standing up together because they're tired and they're demanding change. We have a question, we want to know what would you do if you was a man like Kenneth Chamberlain (ph) whose father served in marines and was killed by white plains police? What would you do if you was a man like r frank graham whose son was killed in his home?

VALENCIA: You are here not just for Freddie Gray, you are here for a list of other people who have also, you think, suffered injustice at hands of police as well?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you ask that question, I would have to say, yes. I am reacting to what happened to Freddie Gray and many other innocent, unarmed black and brown people who have been killed. But more importantly, I'm here proactively to stop this from happening to your child or one of your loved ones or one of my loved ones.

VALENCIA: And what we are seeing now also stark contrast from what we've seen this week, particularly month night. This is calm, peaceful. How does that make you feel?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I feel good to see so many people, black and brown, Spanish, Chinese, White, Jews, Muslims, Christians, coming together send them a strong message.

VALENCIA: People have come across the country to join your march here today. You know, that is got to say something.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That says a lot. And sending a strong message to all the elected officials that the people are tired, they are not going to have this, no more. That they're going to stand together, band together, and demand change. Demand legislative changes, laws that will deter any officer from violating the rights of any citizen or thinking they can get away with murder.

VALENCIA: (INAUDIBLE) you were telling me just a short time ago, that you think this can change, this systemic pattern, what you call it, police abuse. You have hope this can change, why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir. If I didn't have hope I wouldn't be here. And I believe that I can do my part to leave this world a better place for my children. I believe that if we all work together and share the earth's resources, that nobody has to suffer, nobody has to live like this, I believe that poverty's manufactured by the rich as they hoard resources to the demise of the masses.

VALENCIA: And here, you are joined by so many, both young and old from all across the country, all walks of life. Thank you, Francois, for taking the time with CNN. We appreciate it. Good luck to you and your effort.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One last thing. I want to ask all of the candidates this year, what are you going to do? What laws are you going to put in place to really address the oppression, the racism and the police murder that has become -- that is epidemic in America? Thank you.

VALENCIA: Thank you very much.

Fredricka, a lot of emotion, a lot of passion among these demonstrators, but this, by and large, is a peaceful march. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. It is indeed a peaceful march. It is boisterous because you're hearing the words over the microphones now replacing the music we heard earlier, Nick. And we're now starting to see the first wave of people from the march that originated with the group that you have been walking with. They are now coming in right over here to my left. They are holding signs, it is right to rebel. The blatant injustices are indisputable and undeniable. Justice for Freddie Gray. We heard from one of the speakers earlier, reminding people that while the atmosphere is jubilant, while the music was playing, in their words, this is a celebration of the life of 25-year- old Freddie Gray, not necessarily a statement celebration for the charges that were imposed against the six police officers but certainly, after talking to a number of people here in the crowd, many have expressed to me in various ways, shapes and forms that they are encouraged that the process has begun, leading to the prosecution of anyone and all people responsible for the death of Freddie Gray.

So, in the crowd here, just to my right, and right in front of me here, this is right in front of what's called war memorial plaza, right here at city hall. In the crowd here is our Ryan Young. We are going to try to communicate with him if he's able to hear me, Ryan. I'd love for you it tell me about the sentiment of the people that you are interacting with and why they were compelled to come out today.

[13:45:45] RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Definitely hard to hear. You can feel the energy from the crowd, piercing forward. We've been here since Tuesday on the ground, my team has, I can tell you, you can feel the wave of change within the crowd. When we first arrived here, it was very tense. And now day after day, you can see community leaders have been taking hold of the situation. They just ask for five seconds of silence here from the crowd.

So now you can here silence is gone. But look, the passion has changed so much. We have seen community leaders, standing in between police officers and the people on the crowd to make sure nothing happens. But you can also see a change just how the crowd looks as well. You have seen people like this who have shown up with shirts wearing black lives matter, we've talked before just about the crowd and wanting to be a part of this. Why do you think it's important for Baltimore to heal?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know what we need? We need to see change in the country, not just in Baltimore city, you know, what happened is a horrible thing that happened. It's a crazy thing, it opened my eyed to what's going on all over the world and we need to see change.

YOUNG: You told me also to be important to be a part of this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

YOUNG: You saw the pain in the city earlier this week. What do you want to see changed from this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What I want to see changed is justice for everyone. Regardless of color. Regardless of sex, gender. That's what I want to see, definitely.

YOUNG: Definitely. I'm telling you, we've heard a lot of people having passions for the city, they're worried when everybody goes away, in terms of the media, that people will forget the message. But I can tell you, there's a lot of young people in the crowd who are registering to vote at this point, who are getting involved in a process. If you look at the crowd, it's very diverse. A lot of tie dye shirts, people walking around with smiles on their face, holding flags, different political affiliations but come under one flag for this because they want to talk about reforming.

A big difference from the folks we've seen earlier in the week. Every single day it's gotten better in terms of people getting together, finding solutions for Baltimore in the belong run.

WHITFIELD: So, Ryan, what is interesting here, too, is you're seeing people of all walks, seeing people of all colors, all ages, many people have brought their children, they have their dogs here, it's a beautiful day. It was expected the turnout would be very great. But what are people telling you about the journey they have made in order to be here? Some local, some who come from out of town.

YOUNG: We've actually talked to some people who flew here from Japan. They were actually going to get married here today and had to cancel their wedding but decide to get married with the justice of the peace, wanted to be part of the celebration, we are walking around in a wedding gown and tuxedo.

We have seen people come from as far as California who are talking about, look, if you didn't look at signs here, you would not be sure what the rally's about. You hear people in the crowd talking about police officers, accountability and coming together. Creating different political agendas. So it's a different crowd. Honestly, you can see the evolution of the conversation throughout the week. Now you've ended up with this, a multicultural mix throughout the city and the country who decided to come here, they wanted to be here for this very moment.

WHITFIELD: And so, Ryan, has anyone said anything to you about being met with the presence of National Guard and police all around city hall, all around the inner harbor, which is generally a great tourist attraction. It is a place that especially on a beautiful day like today, Saturday, people would converge there? But it's a very different tone that is being sent by having this kind of police and National Guard presence. Is anyone expressing to you their thoughts, their worries about, their concerns or are they happy to see that?

YOUNG: I think you bring up a good point because I was talking to some people in the community. I took a walk through downtown this morning. And met people along the way talking about they want the curfew lifted. And the reason why is they say the curfew's starting to hurt their pockets. Even people who make minimum wage, waitresses, people cleaning up, if you close stores earl think can't make money they need to make. So this is starting to hurt them financially. They understand the city needs to heal. But at the same time, you can't pay your bills. You can understand why they are stressed. That's their options everywhere.

In fact if you look in the building on top of us, you can see all these National Guard members standing on top of it. But at the same time, when you walk down a city streets, sometimes you see more officers and patrol officers around than you see people. So there is a call for people to come back out and start shopping. In fact our hotel had a 90 occupancy and it's down to 20 percent. People need some help and they hope stores will start opening up again.

[13:50:34] WHITFIELD: All right, Ryan Young, thank you so much. We'll check back with you again.

Now hundreds of people converging here on war memorial plaza outside Baltimore city hall after many have made a pretty significant trek over about a two to three-hour span walking three to four miles throughout the city. We're going to have more coverage right here in the NEWSROOM from Baltimore right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:54:36] WHITFIELD: Welcome back to Baltimore live, I'm Frederica Whitfield.

One day after state's attorney, the prosecutor, Marilyn Mosby, imposes charges against six Baltimore police officers on this beautiful, sunny Saturday, hundreds of people have turned out here walking through the city and now converging here at city hall for a rally. They're calling it a youth rally.

And we've also heard some of the speakers say this is celebration of the life of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, who died while in police custody in April. At the same time there is some reservation about their feelings about now the justice process beginning. First the charges, now what's next?

Our Nick Valencia is on the streets with many of the demonstrators who are walking through the city on their way to this final destination.

So Nick, what has brought out so many people of all ages where you are?

VALENCIA: We have seen people of all ages, all backgrounds, essentially with the same message. They feel that there have been unarmed civilians that have suffered brutality at the hands of police. Largely those people have been black. But here in this crowd, Fredricka, you see behind me it is multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, bicoastal, people from as far away as North Carolina, New York. I mean, you've seen rallies all across the country. Here this started, this march, about ten minutes ago. We're on the west side of Baltimore and we are walking right in the middle of the street shutting down traffic. By and large, though, it is peaceful. We have yet to see a police presence. We started just a short time ago at the site where Freddie Gray was arrested. And you can hear right now they're chanting "Freddie Gray did not have to die." We'll continue this march as we head toward city hall, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you so much. Nick Valencia, appreciate that.

OK, we're going to continue to watch the rally that's unfolding here. Hundreds of people converging at war memorial plaza, right outside of city hall. Much more in the NEWSROOM straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [13:59:22] WHITFIELD: Welcome back to the NEWSROOM. Live from Baltimore, this is a look at the massive crowd gathering in this city for a rally in support of Freddie Gray.

Hello again, everyone, thanks for joining us. I'm Fredricka Whitfield like in front of city hall a short distance from where that march is under way. Right now, the gathering has been peaceful and celebratory for some who are seeking justice for Freddie Gray. The 25-year-old man died while in police custody in April. The six officers involved in Gray's arrest have now been charged in his death. The officers are out on bond following their own arrests yesterday. Rallies are planned all over the country in fact. Not just here in Baltimore, but you see the map right here -- Houston, Texas, Richmond, Virginia, and Boston.

We have a team of reporters around the city of Baltimore covering today's demonstration.