NEW YORK – Many thousands took to the streets of New York City on Thursday night to protest the non-indictment of white New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo who was responsible for the choking death of black Staten Island resident Eric Garner on July 17.
The crowds echoed Garner’s last words, "I can’t breathe," and chanted the words that have now become iconic since the shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old black man killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri: "Hands up, don’t shoot." One of the demonstrators on Thursday, Josh Norkin, a defense attorney for Legal Aid, said he sees issues with police brutality every day.
“This has been going on since white people brought black people here for slavery," he said. "The system is broken, and we’re trying to fix it.”
A number of people, including Fronsy Thurman, brought their children with them to the demonstration. When asked why, Thurman said: “I want him to know that this is how we represent ourselves, and that this is our voice.”
For many people, though, the tipping point for their involvement in the Garner protests was the fact that despite clear video evidence, Officer Pantaleo was not indicted with any crime.
“You can’t have more evidence than this,” Phil Arnore, a protester, said with a nervous laugh. “I mean, it happened on camera.”
Arnore also remarked that putting body cameras on police officers doesn't go far enough. “It’s an easy liberal excuse to avoid having to deal with the real issue, which is institutionalized racism.”
Another protester, Reggie, said he's been attending police brutality rallies and marches for 30 years.
“I can’t recall a time when so many black men and children, who were unarmed, had been killed in such a short time," Reggie said. "It’s 2014. The problem has not diminished but increased. How is this possible?”
The atmosphere throughout the night was peaceful but filled with anger. Protesters marched through the streets, shutting down traffic and chanting slogans like, “Eric Garner, Mike Brown. Shut it down, shut it down.” At one point, the demonstrators staged a die-in on the middle of West Side Highway.
According to ABC News, 223 people were arrested on disorderly conduct charges throughout the night.
Garner, who was the father of six, was 43 when he died. The video of his last moments – after he was stopped by police for selling untaxed cigarettes, or "loosies," on the street – have been widely circulated on Internet and television.
Reverend Al Sharpton announced a march being planned for Dec. 13 in Washington, DC, to protest the recent killings and non-indictments.
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