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| New York rally for Eric Garner: 'We don’t want any more Michael Browns' | New York rally for Eric Garner: 'We don’t want any more Michael Browns' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Thousands of people gathered in the New York borough of Staten Island on Saturday, to protest near the spot where Eric Garner, an unarmed 43-year-old black man, was killed last month after white police officers used an illegal chokehold while trying to subdue and arrest him. | Thousands of people gathered in the New York borough of Staten Island on Saturday, to protest near the spot where Eric Garner, an unarmed 43-year-old black man, was killed last month after white police officers used an illegal chokehold while trying to subdue and arrest him. |
| As tensions continued to simmer in Ferguson, Missouri, over the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old, by a white police officer earlier this month, up to 15,000 people were initially forecast to march in New York and rally to support the dead men and call for justice and fair policing. On Saturday a marshal at the event told the Guardian between 5,000 and 7,000 marchers were expected. | |
| Crowds packed on to the Staten Island ferry alongside bewildered tourists out to photograph the Statue of Liberty, as activists and ordinary citizens of all ages and skin colours, from New York and further afield, headed to the gathering point close to where Garner was killed in July. | Crowds packed on to the Staten Island ferry alongside bewildered tourists out to photograph the Statue of Liberty, as activists and ordinary citizens of all ages and skin colours, from New York and further afield, headed to the gathering point close to where Garner was killed in July. |
| Protesters shouted “Hands up, don’t shoot” as they gathered at the protest, echoing the chant that has taken hold in Ferguson – some witness accounts say Brown had his hands up when he was shot dead in disputed circumstances two weeks ago. | Protesters shouted “Hands up, don’t shoot” as they gathered at the protest, echoing the chant that has taken hold in Ferguson – some witness accounts say Brown had his hands up when he was shot dead in disputed circumstances two weeks ago. |
| T-shirts read “Black man walking, don’t shoot”, “Black lives matter” and “I have a dream”, in reference to the most famous speech by the assassinated 1960s civil rights leader Martin Luther King. | T-shirts read “Black man walking, don’t shoot”, “Black lives matter” and “I have a dream”, in reference to the most famous speech by the assassinated 1960s civil rights leader Martin Luther King. |
| “I’m here today because I don’t want my nephews, who are aged one, two and three, to have to march when their generation grows up,” said Carolyn Butts, 47, who publishes African Voices magazine, as she headed towards the protest. | “I’m here today because I don’t want my nephews, who are aged one, two and three, to have to march when their generation grows up,” said Carolyn Butts, 47, who publishes African Voices magazine, as she headed towards the protest. |
| “My grandfather lives in Norfolk, Virginia, Reverend David Butts, and he protested with Martin Luther King during the civil rights march in the hope that my generation would not have to do this. | “My grandfather lives in Norfolk, Virginia, Reverend David Butts, and he protested with Martin Luther King during the civil rights march in the hope that my generation would not have to do this. |
| “I’m sad today that I have to march today but after what happened to Eric Garner and everything going on in Ferguson it’s just too much. I’m not normally an activist but we don’t want any more Michael Browns.” | “I’m sad today that I have to march today but after what happened to Eric Garner and everything going on in Ferguson it’s just too much. I’m not normally an activist but we don’t want any more Michael Browns.” |
| Police presence was light as the crowds began gathering. Organisers promised a peaceful protest and rally, at which the Reverend Al Sharpton and other political figures were scheduled to speak on Saturday afternoon. | Police presence was light as the crowds began gathering. Organisers promised a peaceful protest and rally, at which the Reverend Al Sharpton and other political figures were scheduled to speak on Saturday afternoon. |
| Randy Tucker, a banker and president of the New York branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), said there needed to be an increase in community policing, so officers got to know the people in the neighbourhoods where they both lived and served from childhood onwards. | Randy Tucker, a banker and president of the New York branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), said there needed to be an increase in community policing, so officers got to know the people in the neighbourhoods where they both lived and served from childhood onwards. |
| He has held meetings with New York police chief Bill Bratton, in which they have discussed the controversial “broken windows” policing methods championed by Bratton, which involve police cracking down hard on minor offences as a strategy to prevent more serious crime. | He has held meetings with New York police chief Bill Bratton, in which they have discussed the controversial “broken windows” policing methods championed by Bratton, which involve police cracking down hard on minor offences as a strategy to prevent more serious crime. |
| Garner was accused of trying to sell loose cigarettes on the street when police officers surrounded him; he struggled while being arrested and was put in a chokehold. He later died, apparently gasping repeatedly that he could not breathe. | Garner was accused of trying to sell loose cigarettes on the street when police officers surrounded him; he struggled while being arrested and was put in a chokehold. He later died, apparently gasping repeatedly that he could not breathe. |
| “It’s important for white people to be here today, too, so that everyone protests together and they get rid of licensed killers among the police. We need to stop this kind of police brutality,” said John Breitbart, 61, a high-school teacher who travelled to the demonstration from the Upper West Side in Manhattan. | “It’s important for white people to be here today, too, so that everyone protests together and they get rid of licensed killers among the police. We need to stop this kind of police brutality,” said John Breitbart, 61, a high-school teacher who travelled to the demonstration from the Upper West Side in Manhattan. |
| Organisers planned to bring demonstrators in by bus. The march was scheduled to go from the site close to where Garner was arrested to the district attorney’s office in Staten Island, where the rally was planned. | Organisers planned to bring demonstrators in by bus. The march was scheduled to go from the site close to where Garner was arrested to the district attorney’s office in Staten Island, where the rally was planned. |