Baltimore lifts curfew, forces begin pullout

Baltimore lifted a curfew Sunday that was imposed across the US East Coast city following widespread riots, as thousands of National Guard troops began to pull out.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake had faced growing calls for the curfew to be scrapped, particularly from store and restaurant owners who said the 10:00pm to 5:00am nightly restriction was wrecking business.

"My goal has always been to not have the curfew in place a single day longer than was necessary," Rawlings-Blake wrote on Twitter. "I believe we have reached that point today."

Hundreds of people meanwhile rallied again at City Hall plaza, summoned by local religious leaders.

Across the city, people cheered the return to relative calm with impromptu celebrations, a far cry from the riots that saw angry protesters torch cars, pelt police with stones and ransack stores on April 27.

The riots stemmed from protests over the death of Freddie Gray, 25, who suffered a serious spinal injury while in the back of a police van on April 12.

He died a week later.

A total of 113 officers were wounded and 486 protesters were arrested.

About 200 businesses, most minority-owned, were lost in the rioting on April 27, according to Hogan. 

Six Baltimore police officers, three white and three black, were charged Friday with multiple counts, including second-degree murder and manslaughter in connection with the death.