200 Arrests as Protesters Take to the Streets for a Second Night to Protest Grand Jury Rulings
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Bilgin S. Sasmaz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — For the second straight night, hundreds of protesters took to the streets of New York City to protest grand jury decisions in New York and Ferguson, Missouri, to not indict white police officers in the deaths of two unarmed black men.
New York City Police arrested more than 200 people in the overnight protests. Many of the arrests involved charges for disorderly conduct or refusal to clear the streets, authorities told ABC News.
Protesters partially closed down the Brooklyn Bridge while another group of demonstrators marched up Manhattan’s West Side Highway.
Earlier this week, a grand jury on Staten Island opted not to indict New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo in the July death of Eric Garner, who was put in an apparent choke hold by the cop while selling loose cigarettes on the street. The 43-year-old Garner, who was overweight and asthmatic, died from a heart attack.
Last month, a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri, declined to indict white police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown last August.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio spoke again Thursday about the protests, saying, “People need to know that black lives and brown lives matter as much as white lives.”
In Boston, hundreds of protesters gathered at the Boston Common annual tree lighting Thursday to protest the New York grand jury decision. The protesters remained behind barricades during the show and did not disrupt the program. The protesters later marched up several Boston streets.
Hundreds of demonstrators also took to the streets of Chicago to protest. The city’s Lake Shore Drive was shut down temporarily by demonstrators clogging the roadway.
There were protests in several other cities, including Atlanta, Minneapolis, Denver and Detroit. All the protests were peaceful, for the most part.
Meanwhile, the New York City Police Department has launched an internal investigation into the choke hold death of Garner.
Officer Pantaleo may now be interviewed by internal affairs officers. Police sources told ABC News the other officers who were on the scene are scheduled to be interviewed Friday. If internal affairs investigators recommend a punishment, a department judge will be the one to decide if it is enacted.
Pantaleo is also the subject of a federal civil rights investigation.
On Thursday, a judge released some details of the Staten Island grand jury’s proceedings. The grand jury sat for nine weeks and heard testimony from 50 witnesses, including 22 civilians. The grand jury also reviewed 60 exhibits, including videos, records and photos. The grand jurors were also instructed on the law about the use of force. That law says, in part, a police officer can use force when it’s necessary to make an arrest.
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