The citizens of Albuquerque have expressed dissatisfaction with the city's police department in the past, but Sunday that discontent came to a breaking point.
"Where's Mayor Berry? ... We demand to be heard!"
"It became increasingly tense, increasingly violent."
"They've taken to the streets, blocked off traffic on I-25 all while shouting things like 'killer' at police in riot gear."
The people of Albuquerque are protesting what they consider excessive force by the city's police department over the past few years.
The protest took place in about a two-mile stretch, protesters would walk back and forth from downtown to the edge of the University of New Mexico. Though the protest began peacefully, it slowly became more and more chaotic as the day went on.
Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry described the protest Sunday night as, "mayhem" and went on to say, "We respected their rights to protest, obviously, but what it appears we have at this time is individuals who weren't connected necessarily with the original protest. They've taken it far beyond a normal protest."
According to the Albuquerque Journal, before the day was over APD had thrown more than two dozen cans of tear gas and arrested at least a half dozen protesters.
The city began its spiral toward mayhem in mid-March when police shot a homeless camper named James Boyd.
Along with investigating the shooting death of Boyd, the FBI launched a civil rights probe more than a year ago into the APD to determine the validity of the excessive force allegations.
Much of the scrutiny for the department comes from these staggering numbers. In a town of less than 600,000 people, the Albuquerque police have been involved in 37 shootings, 23 of which were fatal, since 2010.
After the shooting of Boyd, hacktivist group Anonymous posted this video urging the citizens of Albuquerque to protest.
"APD, you now have the full attention of 'Anonymous.' To the citizens of Albuquerque, it's time to organize."
"Grab your cannons and point them at police websites."
Sunday, the APD website did endure a cyber attack and was down most of the day, though it's still unclear if a member of Anonymous was the cause.
