Eric Garner death: Fresh protests across US cities

Eric Garner death: Fresh protests across
US cities

Protests have been held for a second night
over the death of a black man held in an
apparent chokehold by a white New York
police officer.
Thousands of people took to the streets in New
York and other US cities, disrupting traffic and
holding sit-ins.
The protests began on Wednesday, after a
grand jury decided not to press charges over the
death of Eric Garner.
Civil rights activists are pinning their hopes on a
federal investigation into the case.
The mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, said the
city's 22,000-strong police force would be
retrained in how to better communicate and
remain calm when making arrests, and they will
be fitted with body cameras.
US President Barack Obama welcomed the
mayor's commitment to act, adding: "Too many
Americans feel deep unfairness when it comes
to the gap between our professed ideals and
how laws are applied on a day to day basis."
America saw a wave of race-related unrest only
last week over the decision not to indict another
white police officer who had shot dead a young
black man, Michael Brown, in Ferguson,
Missouri.
UN human rights experts have expressed
"legitimate concerns" over the decisions not to
bring to trial the cases of both Mr Brown and
Mr Garner.
Policing and race
13%
of the US population is black

28% of suspects arrested in the US in 2010 were black

32% of people killed from 2003 to 2009 in
arrest-related incidents were black

42% of inmates on death row in 2012 were
black

Source: US Census Bureau, US Bureau Of Just
Statistics.


'Black life matters'
On Thursday night in New York, protesters
carried coffins across the Brooklyn Bridge and
marched in several groups through Manhattan,
carrying banners saying "Racism kills" and "This
stops today".
"People are sick and tired of the systemic
problems of racism in this country," said one
protester, Jason Pollock. "We are out here in the
streets to say that black life matters."
Police in riot gear told protesters staging sit-ins
that they would face arrest if they did not move
along. Police arrested more than 80 people in
Wednesday's protests, though the
demonstrations have been largely peaceful.
Smaller-scale protests were held in cities
including Chicago, Washington, Denver, and
Boston. In Minneapolis, some protesters blocked
traffic by marching or lying in the middle of a
highway.
Activists have called for another march in
Washington on 13 December, followed by a
summit on civil rights.
Mr Garner, 43, was stopped on a street in New
York on 17 July on suspicion of selling loose,
untaxed cigarettes.
After a confrontation with police officer Daniel
Pantaleo placed his arm round Mr Garner's
neck. Mr Garner, who had asthma, was wrestled
to the ground and restrained by force.
On video of the incident, he can be heard
repeatedly saying "I can't breathe". He became
unresponsive and later died.