Human RightsNorth America

US police arrest protesters during NY demo against brutality

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Police in the US city of New York arrest some 20 people protesting in front of the house of the city’s mayor against law enforcement’s brutality.

The demonstrators on Thursday held placards reading “Black Lives Matter” in protest of the discharge of Daniel Pantaleo, a police officer responsible for the death of unarmed African American citizen Eric Garner last year.

Garner was killed after being put in a chokehold by policemen in July 2014 for allegedly selling loose cigarettes.

Protesters called on officials in New York City and its mayor to fire Pantaleo and reform police practices.

The protest, organized by the Justice League, marked one year since a grand jury failed to indict Pantaleo. Protesters arrested outside the mayor’s house have since been released from the 33rd precinct, the League said.

The grand jury said it had not found enough evidence to indict Pantaleo, even though his encounter with Garner had been recorded on a cell phone.

A string of police killings of unarmed African Americans has led to the creation of the Black Lives Matter movement and raised nationwide debates about police violence.

Numerous demonstrations have been held across the country since last year following white police officers killing unarmed African-American men, including Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri; Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Ohio; Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York and Walter Scott in North Charleston, South Carolina.

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