Baltimore police injured in clashes after custody death

Demonstrators throw rocks at Baltimore police after the funeral of Freddie Gray Credit: Reuters

Several police were injured after violence erupted in Baltimore today after the funeral of a man who died in police custody.

Youths stoned a city bus and passing police vehicles outside the Mondawmin Mall in northwest Baltimore just a few blocks from the site of a funeral for 25-year-old Freddie Gray.

A largely teenage crowd threw rocks and bottles at a line of several hundred police in riot gear and demonstrators carried signs reading 'Justice 4 Freddie Gray'.

Young people threw rocks and bottles at police Credit: Reuters

Gray died of a severe spinal injury a week after being arrested by Baltimore police further stoking an already intense national conversation about police treatment of African Americans.

Six Baltimore police officers involved in Gray's arrest have been suspended during the investigation into the exact cause of his death.

Gloria Darden, mother of Freddie Gray who died following an arrest by the Baltimore police department, sits by the casket at his burial at Woodlawn Cemetery in Baltimore Credit: Reuters

Earlier, thousands of mourners attended the funeral for Gray including Reverend Jesse Jackson and congressman Elijah Cummings.

Gray's family had pleaded for peaceful demonstrations after some arrests and injuries at protests over the weekend.

Hours before violence erupted, Baltimore police reported receiving a "credible threat" that several gangs were planning to try to "take out" law enforcement officers.

Gray's arrest, for carrying a flick-knife, was captured on video by bystanders, but authorities have not fully explained how Gray received his fatal injuries.

Baltimore's deputy police commissioner Kevin Davis admitted on Saturday that Gray should have received medical attention on the spot, and that he should not have been put inside the van without a seatbelt.