Dozens arrested in protests against US police violence

Mass protests have been held in several US cities over police brutality against African-Americans and other minorities, leading to arrests of dozens of people.

About 250 activists marched in New York City on Tuesday, holding up signs that read “Stop murder by police” and “Stop killer cops.”

At least 12 people, some of whom appeared to be school-aged, were arrested after a brief scuffle with police near the Brooklyn Bridge.

Police in Los Angeles, California said 15 protesters were arrested from a group of about 100 after they stopped on train tracks and failed to disperse.

Elsewhere in California, more than 100 protesters marched in San Francisco to Oakland. Six demonstrators were arrested in Oakland for blocking traffic.

About 100 protesters in Madison, Wisconsin who were mostly high school students blocked a major roadway.

A series of demonstrations have taken place there after last month’s fatal shooting of unarmed black teen Tony Robinson Jr. by a white police officer.

Following the death of Eric Garner by NYPD officers last summer, New York has become one of the nations focal points for protests against the police. (AFP Photo)

The protests were organized by the Stop Mass Incarceration Network following the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man in the back by a white police officer in North Charleston, South Carolina.

The incident, which was captured on cell phone, shows former officer Michael T. Slager firing multiple times at Walter Scott as he ran away, sparking outrage around the country.

The killing was just one of a succession of fatal police shootings in recent months. Slager has been charged with murder.

Last year, protests were sparked across the US after a series of high-profile incidents of white police officers killing unarmed African-American men, including Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in New York.