Thousands paralyse traffic in New York, Washington in largest rallies yet over cop shootings
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 14 December, 2014, 1:38pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 14 December, 2014, 5:09pm
AFP and Reuters in New York and Washington
A woman shouts slogans against police brutality while marching on the streets of Manhattan, New York. Photo: Reuters
Thousands of protesters paralysed parts of New York and Washington, stepping up demonstrations across the United States demanding justice for black men killed by white police.
The rallies in the US capital, New York, Boston and in several Californian cities were among the largest in a growing protest movement sparked by the killing of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, on August 9.
The protests were peaceful, although police in Boston said they arrested 23 people who tried to block a highway and on Saturday night police in Oakland, California ordered hundreds of demonstrators to disperse after a grocery store was looted.
Grand jury decisions not to prosecute the white officers responsible for 18-year-old Brown’s death and a fatal chokehold on New York father of six Eric Garner in July, have triggered weeks of protests.
Demonstrators march through the Loop to protest police abuse in Chicago. Other cities saw similar protests. Photo: AFP
Demonstrators shut down parts of Manhattan and Washington’s Pennsylvania Avenue that leads to the Capitol with cries of “No justice, no peace”, “Justice now” and “The whole damn system is guilty as hell”.
The mixed crowds mobilised many young people, parents and the elderly. They held up banners proclaiming, “Stop racist police” and “I can’t breathe”.
“I can’t breathe” were the last words uttered repeatedly by Garner, as police wrestled him to the ground for allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes in New York’s Staten Island.
Their deaths lit a fire on simmering resentment against police tactics in the United States and the distrust many black men feel towards law enforcement.
The Garner and Brown families were joined in Washington by relatives of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was shot dead last month by Cleveland police, and of Trayvon Martin, who was killed in Florida by a neighbourhood watchman in 2012.
Garner’s widow and wife took to the stage before the energised crowd.
“I am here not only for marching for Eric Garner, but for everyone’s daughters and sons and nieces and nephews and dads and mums,” widow Esaw Garner said.
Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, said the protests would continue until lawmakers respond to demands for reform. “This is a history-making moment,” she said as onlookers erupted in cheers.
“We will come here as many times as it takes,” she told a cheering crowd as they edged toward the US Capitol building that houses the US Congress.
Protesters gathered in a one-block section of Pennsylvania Avenue and nearby public space, although organisers estimated the crowd at 40,000 to 50,000 people. A police spokesman declined to provide a crowd estimate, citing department policy, and said there had been no arrests.
“What a sea of people,” said Michael Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden. “If they don’t see this and make a change, I don’t know what we’re going to do.”
Civil rights activist Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network and a prominent figure in the rallies, led the protest march in Washington.
Sharpton and organisers urged Congress to pass legislation that would allow federal prosecutors to take over cases involving police violence.
“You thought it would be kept quiet. You thought you’d sweep it under the rug. You thought there would be no limelight. But we’re going to keep the light on Michael Brown, on Eric Garner, on Tamir Rice, on all of these victims,” he said, as the families of those killed joined him on stage, some sobbing.
In New York, protesters shut down a six-kilometre route from Washington Square, down Fifth and Sixth Avenues and Broadway to converge outside police headquarters, filling the air with chants of “Justice now!”
At the end of the march, the protesters raised their hands in mock surrender outside the police headquarters in lower Manhattan.
Observers estimated the march size at 20,000 to 30,000 protesters. Police gave no estimate and reported no arrests.
Christmas shoppers stood agog on the sidewalk, supporters hung out of apartment windows to shout words of encouragement and store workers took a break to take pictures on their cellphones.
“We will shut New York City down,” promised the organisers into loudspeakers as the crowd streamed out of Washington Square.
Police and organisers said thousands turned out in New York, but were not immediately able to provide a clearer breakdown.
The atmosphere was largely defiant but peaceful, although police stood by in large numbers.
In Berkeley, California, scene of ongoing protests, body-sized cardboard effigies of lynching victims were seen hanging by nooses on Saturday at the University of California, Berkeley.
Spokeswoman Claire Holmes said all were taken down. “It has been unclear to us whether this was racially motivated or part of the protests,” said Holmes, adding there were no suspects.
