( CNN ) -- Several hundred demonstrators clashed with officers in riot gear in Albuquerque , New Mexico , Sunday in a protest that raged for more than 12 hours , ending around midnight , CNN affiliate KOAT reported . The protesters were enraged by what they called police brutality in the March 16 shooting of James M. Boyd . KOAT reported that Boyd was homeless . The U.S. Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the shooting , as have the FBI and the U.S. Attorney 's Office for the District of New Mexico , the Justice Department said in a release . Meanwhile , arrests were made related to the protest , KOAT said . Mayor Richard Berry told the station that an officer was spat on and hit with a rock and another officer was trapped in a patrol car . Police shooting protest 'turns hostile ' The mayor praised the police department for how it handled the protest , saying officers did an `` exceptional job of de-escalating situations when we have protesters who obviously '' want to `` escalate the situation . '' `` We want people to be able to protest , '' Berry added . But he said the demonstration was plagued by a `` smaller group of individuals whose main goal '' was to `` put the public and themselves in danger . '' According to KOAT , protesters began gathering at about noon Sunday , and made their way to the city 's Civic Plaza , the University of New Mexico and the Albuquerque Police Department . The University of New Mexico tweeted about the protest : `` Reports from the scene have informed us that tear gas has been deployed , arrests are being made , again please avoid the Johnson Field area . ''
Protesters enraged by what they call police brutality , KOAT reports . The protest was organized after a grand jury decided not to indict the white officer who shot and killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, last August. Affiliate : Albuquerque mayor praises how police handled protest .