The demonstrators marched with their hands held up in surrender. Witnesses say Michael Brown had held up his hands before he was fatally shot by a Ferguson police officer.
BY DUSICA SUE MALESEVIC | Protesters gathered at One Police Plaza on Mon., Aug. 18, in a show of support for the people of Ferguson, Missouri, which was rocked by the police shooting of a black teenager, Michael Brown, and to vent anger at the New York Police Department.
Larry Holmes, of the People’s Power Assembly, which organized the protest, started at 5:30 p.m. with the chant, “Justice for Michael! Arrest the Killer Cop!” while members of the N.Y.P.D. looked on. Sometimes the chant would change to “Justice for Eric Garner!”
Many carried signs, such as, “We Are All Michael Brown,” “Jail Killer Cops” and “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot.”
“I’m here because I’m really frustrated and I want to show solidarity with the people in Ferguson,” said Kristina Andreotta, 32, who also attended a protest held in Bedford-Stuyvesant. She marched with a sign that had the hashtag “BlackLivesMatter.”
Danovis Schufford, 36, from Flatbush, said he can relate to what is going on in Ferguson.
“It happens every day in urban neighborhoods,” he said.
As more people joined in, the protesters walked in a circle in the plaza west of City Hall as the Frank Gehry-designed 8 Spruce St. tower glistened in the distance. Hand clapping, coins shaken in a container and whistle blowing punctuated the chants that focused on Ferguson, New York City and Gaza, as well.
Anger was expressed toward Police Commissioner Bill Bratton and Mayor de Blasio, with several speakers saying, “Ferguson today, New York tomorrow.”
Fathers and mothers who had lost their children spoke after the crowd finished its march and chanting. Franclot Graham’s 18-year-old son Ramarley was fatally shot by police two and a half years ago.
“Enough is enough,” he told The Downtown Express. “We are still waiting for justice.”
