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Protesters crowded streets across the U.S. as people voiced their outrage over a grand jury decision to not indict a white police officer in the death of Eric Garner. One of the biggest protests took place in New York City. VPC
Protesters gather in the street under the Chinatown Arch adjacent to Verizon Center prior to the game between the Washington Wizards and the Denver Nuggets at Verizon Center. A grand jury's December 3 decision to clear the white police officer in the death of Eric Garner is sparking protests from New York to San Francisco and added to an ongoing national debate about race and the police's use of deadly force.(Photo: Geoff Burke, USA TODAY Sports)
NEW YORK - Americans angry with the U.S. justice system laid down in streets and blocked highways in at least six major cities Friday in the latest demonstrations following the Eric Garner grand jury decision.
The country headed into the weekend with emotions running raw two days after a grand jury decided that a Staten Island, N.Y., police officer would not face charges in the July death of Garner, 43, an asthmatic who died after a chokehold.
Demonstrations raised the volume and slowed major arteries in Boston, Chicago, New York, Cleveland, Washington, Miami and other places.
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Many protesters expressed anger at not just the Garner decision, but a recent spate of events in which unarmed black men or boys died in police confrontations. Many of the incidents ended with officers facing no charges.
Desiree Griffiths, 31, of Miami, holds up a sign saying "Black Lives Matter", with the names of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, two black men recently killed by police, during a protest Friday, Dec. 5, 2014, in Miami. People are protesting nationwide against recent decisions not to prosecute white police officers involved in the killing of black men. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) ORG XMIT: FLLS107<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Lynne Sladky, AP)
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In New York's Columbus Circle at the southwest edge of Central Park, dozens of protesters walked through streets, chanting "I can't breathe" in homage to Garner, along with "How do you spell racist? NYPD." Some held up their hands, shouting, "Hands up, don't shoot," a reference to Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old shot dead in August after an altercation with a Ferguson, Mo., police officer.
They staged "die-ins" at an Apple store on Fifth Avenue and at Macy's flagship store in Midtown.
Several protests choked Washington, D.C. Protesters chanting "No justice, no peace, no racist police" locked arms across streets in Chinatown, near the Verizon Center, where the Washington Wizards basketball team was scheduled to face off Friday night against the Denver Nuggets, and a few blocks from the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
In Miami, protesters shutdown I-95. They shouted "I can't breathe in downtown Chicago" and blocked major streets in Boston.
Those viewing the protests through a distant lens suggested the country is on the verge of a new movement, rather than a few days of protests.
Professors, students and staff members at Fordham University Law School issued a bristling letter blaming institutional racism for the recent grand jury decisions.
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"We live separate lives in often segregated communities. People of color and particularly young black men are too often subject to coercion and violence by police officers who are themselves trapped in the same ugly divisive and racist system," the letter said.
In the Denver metro area on Friday morning, about 400 students from Aurora Public Schools' Hinkley High School, Gateway High School, Aurora Central High School, Columbia Middle School, Aurora Hills Middle School and Rangeview High School all walked out of classrooms as a show of solidarity.
The protest was largely peaceful but police said some students banged and spit on patrol cars. About 150 students also protested at the Colorado state Capitol as officers stood watch on the West Steps.
In New Haven, Connecticut, home of Yale University, hundreds of demonstrators marched Friday afternoon from the law school to the courthouse. In New Jersey, dozens of students from Rutgers University walked through New Brunswick, slowing downtown rush-hour traffic to a crawl and forcing the city to postpone a tree lighting ceremony scheduled at Monument Square.
In Florida, activists marched through the streets of midtown Miami and blocked a major causeway connecting Miami to Miami Beach. In Providence, Rhode Island, several hundred people blocked downtown streets, while city police had to stop some protesters from walking onto Interstate 95 on Friday night. No arrests were reported.
Contributing: Associated Press
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