DURHAM (AP) — A march to protest the death of a teen in a patrol car ended with police lobbing tear gas and arresting several protesters.
Local news media reported that 150 to 200 people marched from downtown Durham to the police department Thursday night to protest the death of 17-year-old Jesus Huerta.
Police say Huerta shot himself in the head in the back of a patrol car after being arrested on second-degree trespassing charges on Nov. 19. But Huerta’s family and friends aren’t convinced.
Some protesters carried long black banners reading “Murdered By Police.”
Officers in riot gear threw some tear gas canisters after “rocks and bottles were thrown at the police,” Durham Police Chief Jose L. Lopez Sr. said in a statement.
The statement also said “several” people were arrested, but didn’t elaborate.
A similar march last month ended with two people being charged after protesters damaged police headquarters and smashed the window of a police car.