New York City Protests Grow Huge For Second Day In The Wake Of Garner Decision

For the second straight day, protesters are gathering in large numbers across New York City.On Wednesday,a grand juryannounced its decisionto not indict the white police officer who killed a black man in Staten Island.NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo held Eric Garner, a 43-year-old father of six, in an apparent chokehold during an arrest in July. Garner was being arrested for allegedly selling illegal, untaxed cigarettes in the New York City borough.Garner died on scene while several officers crowded around to subdue him.Thousands of marchers snaked through the streets of Manhattan for a second night on Thursday, beginning at the evening rush hour and picking up recruits along the way, often weaving between cars and trucks and bringing traffic to a near standstill.As they paraded through lower Manhattan, protesters staged sporadic sit-ins at intersections before police in riot gear approached and warned them to move along or face arrest. Most demonstrators complied, and the atmosphere among the racially mixed crowd remained boisterous, upbeat and mostly peaceful.Sharon Gordon, 52, ofMatawan,New Jersey, told Reuters that said she hoped politicians would take heed of the public outcry. "There's been a confluence of social media and outrage," she said. "I do believe for the first time we're about to make a change."A second and third wave of marchers later crossed two bridges into Manhattan from Brooklyn, briefly closing both spans to traffic, then converged on Manhattan's southern tip, at the ferry terminal for Staten Island.The main group of demonstrators, meanwhile, headed west and briefly closed theWest Side Highwayalong the Hudson River, resulting in at least a handful of arrests, before turning north again through Greenwich Village and Chelsea.A smaller crowd confronted police along the highway with taunts.Chesray Dolpha, 31, yelled at the officers: "We are not violent. We are not touching you. What are you doing with that baton, brother'" The police made eye contact but did not reply.Here are some tweets we're seeing that show people are gathering all over the city:Hundreds of protesters gather in NYC's Foley Square, near City Hall. Photo via @CBSNewYork's chopper. #EricGarner pic.twitter.com/t60H8k6juD' CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) December 4, 2014#BrooklynBridge #EricGarner #WeCantBreath photo: Ace Zaken @PIX11News pic.twitter.com/woFDo7Fz1N' Ashley Alese Edwards (@AshleyAlese) December 5, 2014Organized chant repeated by marchers to coord movement. A call to gather numbers at Staten Island ferry #nycprotest pic.twitter.com/ZCE6XuxoFF' Chris Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) December 5, 2014Police prevent marchers from entering Holland Tunnel #EricGarner pic.twitter.com/wgr7dtgCDr' Anne Willette (@amwillette) December 5, 2014SEE ALSO:Photos Of The Massive Police Protests That Took Over New York City Last NightJoin the conversation about this story
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