Protestors in New York City shut down Times Square as part of national protests for victims of police brutality. Meanwhile, tensions have eased in Ferguson
Peaceful vigils were held in 90 cities across the United States last night as part of the social media led National Moment of Silence for Victims of Police Brutality.
Among the victims remembered were Michael Brown, 18, the unarmed black teen who was shot and killed during an incident with an officer in a St. Louis suburb last Saturday; and Eric Garner, 43, an unarmed Staten Island man who died of a fatal heart attack after being pinned to the ground during his arrest.
Brown and Garner were two of five unarmed black men killed by police in the last month. Mother Jones reports three others: John Crawford of Beavercreek, OH, who was shot inside of a Walmart for brandishing a BB gun; Ezell Ford of Los Angeles, CA, a 25-year-old mentally challenged man who was allegedly shot while complying with his arrest; and Dante Parker of Victorville, CA, a 36-year-old pressman for the Daily Press newspaper who was allegedly mistaken for a bike thief.
According to Mashable, protestors gathered in New York City in Union Square, Bed-Stuy, Queens and Harlem.
In Union Square, protestors arrived holding signs that showed photos of Brown and Garner while chanting the Ferguson slogan “hands up, don’t shoot.”
The protests in Union Square turned into an impromptu march on the city. Mashable reports:
The growing swath of individuals in Union Square gave shape to an impromptu march through the city — north up Broadway and into Times Square, walking against traffic.
After reaching Times Square, hundreds of individuals broke away into the Theater District at 42nd Street and 9th Avenue — which is where police officers barricaded the area, trapping and kettling the protesters on the sidewalk.
At least four arrests were documented, but most of the protesters were released in groups by the police.
The New York City protests were streamed live on the website LiveStream by a participant known only as James From The Internet, including the Time Square barricade.
The protests in New York City were sharply contrasted to the protests in Ferguson on Thursday, where Missouri Governor Jay Nixon relieved the police of their duty and put the Highway Patrol in charge of the city’s security.
Gone were the riot squads marching through clouds of tear gas that turned Ferguson into a veritable war zone between Sunday and Wednesday nights.
Instead, tearful citizens thanked the officers of the highway patrol.
http://ultraculture.org/blog/2014/08/15/protestors-shut-times-square-victims-police-brutality/
Eric Garner died of strangulation was ruled a homicide.
The police are ALWAYS going to come at you with overwhelming force so why do people set themselves up to be taken down? Stupid I guess. Why not be prepared for it, there is plenty of room on the roof tops, around corners and back allies for people who want to fight back. Don’t be a target, make them the target. You know what they are going to do so prepare for it. Let them move in, then you move in behind them. That’s what they do to you, so you do it to them. They won’t kick in your neighbors door if they are getting shot at from every house on the block. Get the idea?