Police say 143 protesters were arrested after a demonstration in solidarity with Baltimore spread through Manhattan Wednesday.
The march began in Union Square with what organizers called the "Rise up and Shut it down Protest."
When protesters moved into the streets and disrupted traffic, police started making arrests.
People who spoke with NY1 say the arrests were unjustified.
"What we are trying to do is demonstrate something, a peacefully demonstration. I understand things can be agitated at times, but at the end of the day we are not doing anything but walking," said one protester.
"Nobody is winning in this situation but I needed to show my support and when I head about this rally I said there is no other place I need to be but here," said another protester.
"We still believe this country can be better. That is why we are out here protesting," noted a third.
Some protesters made their way up to Midtown, where more people were arrested.
Others moved downtown and demonstrated at the entrance to the Holland Tunnel.
Mayor Bill de Blasio defended the NYPD. In a press conference Thursday afternoon, he said that officers warned protesters multiple times about walking in the streets before arrests were made.
"One thing is clear, when the police give you instruction, you follow the instruction, it's not debatable. and I am saying it as someone who has been at these protests and recognized when police say, 'Stay to the sidewalk,' it means stay to the sidewalk," de Blasio said.
Some protesters say the response by police was much more aggressive than what they have seen over the past year.
The mayor insisted that his administration's approach to protesters has not changed.
Meantime, things appear to be getting back to normal in Baltimore after days of violent protests over the death of a man in police custody.
The city is still following an overnight curfew, and the streets were calm for a second straight night.
Some protesters refused to get off the street before the curfew took effect Wednesday.
A police helicopter blasted a warning to them to disperse.
Demonstrators have been protesting the death of Freddie Gray, who suffered a spinal injury while in police custody.
According to the Washington Post, a prisoner in the same police van with Gray says he heard him banging his head against the wall and believed he was trying to injure himself.
A lawyer for the Gray family disputes that idea.
Authorities in Baltimore say they plan to turn over the findings of a police investigation into Gray's death to a state's attorney by Friday.