Thousands turn out for march against the NYPD

New York Post – by Georgett Roberts, Kevin Fasick and Aaron Short

Thousands of protesters turned out on Staten Island Saturday for a march against the NYPD.

Spearheaded by the Rev. Al Sharpton, marchers got on buses in Harlem and Brooklyn to travel to the site of Eric Garner’s death at Bay Street and Victory Boulevard.

Police Commissioner Bill Bratton is on hand at One Police Plaza and the NYPD has “several hundred” officers from different parts of the city on duty to monitor the protesters, sources said.  

Sharpton arrived at Bay Street and Victory Boulevard with Garner’s family just before 12:30 p.m. to kick off the march. City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and former Governor David Paterson werealso on hand.

Protesters, brandishing signs comparing the NYPD to the KKK, are expected to march past the office of Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan, who has decided to let a grand jury decide whether to criminally charge the officers involved in Garner’s death.

Staten Island shop manager Nadeem Quraishi, 42, says his Subway on Bay Street, near the site of Garner’s death, will stay open and hand out free water as a show of support not just for protesters but for the NYPD and the rest of the community as well.

“We have to work, so we can’t march, so this is our support,” said Quraishi, who counted Garner as a customer. “We expect it to be peaceful. I’m not afraid. We don’t expect anything like what is going on in Ferguson.”

Several hundred people marched up Victory Boulevard toward the rallying site at the intersection with Bay Street, chanting “No justice, no peace,” and “Hands up, don’t shoot,” ahead of the official noon start time.

They carried posters with pictures of Garner and Michael Brown, the Missouri teen killed earlier this month after a confrontation with police.

Garner’s sister, Ellisha Flagg, wore a red T-shirt with her brother’s picture on it and the words “It Stops Today.”

“I’m overwhelmed. I’m overwhelmed in a good way. I mean It is sad that my brother can’t be here to see this but, you know, I know he is watching in spirit,” she said. ”I just hope everybody just stay peaceful … and try to make a change.”

Akquan Ar-Raheem, 60, came from New Brunswick, New Jersey to hop on board a “Justice Caravan” at the Harlem headquarters of Sharpton’s National Action Network.

“I want to see change,” the mechanic said. “People went before us to effect change, but it isn’t happening. They are taking us backwards. I had to come, no matter where, or how far. The struggle is still going on. I had to be a part of it.”

Edina Stacey, 27, got up at 5 a.m. to get from her Bronx home to a NAN bus by 7 a.m. and says for her, Sharpton’s “We Will Not Go Back” march is personal.

“I came here because my own brother was harassed and brutalized by police,” the administrative assistant said. “I’m here to make a difference peacefully.”

Garner’s relatives as well as former Gov. David Paterson are expected to attend the noon demonstration.

David Brown, 28, whose mom is a police officer, said he came out to protest because “my mom’s a cop, but that could have been me, coming out of my building getting killed.”

The Bronx customer service rep said “you have cops who want to help the community, and you have those who really don’t care.”

Harlem resident and fellow demonstrator, Michael Gross, 26, agreed, adding, “there are good cops and bad cops … some of them abuse their power.”

Retired nurse Elna Tullock, 70, of Corona said she’s marching even though she also supports the police.

“I support the police 100 percent but when they do bad, they have to be accountable,” she said.

At least one Brooklyn resident turned out to the “Justice Caravan” boarding spot on Fort Hamilton Parkway to support the NYPD.

Sharpton insisted the rally does not pit protesters against the police.“They are paid to keep me and all citizens safe. If I have a problem I’m calling the NYPD — not Al Sharpton. He don’t give a s–t about me,” said Tracy Blais, 49, who held up a large manila envelope with the words, “Thank You NYPD” in big black letters. The legal secretary said her nephew is a police officer.

“We’re not saying all police are bad cops,” he said at the Mount Sinai United Christian Church on Pike Street. “We’re marching against the chokehold. There are NYPD that agree with us. If you want to stand up for the NYPD you remove the bad cops.”

Additional reporting by Natasha Velez

http://nypost.com/2014/08/23/hundreds-head-to-staten-island-to-march-against-police-brutality/