More protests held across US on New Year’s Eve over police killings

Demonstrations have been held once again across the US on New Year’s Eve to protest police violence following the killing of several African-American men by white officers.

About 75 people gathered at the police headquarters in Ferguson, Missouri on Wednesday to demonstrate against the shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, by white police officer Darren Wilson on August 9.

The protesters told the media that they were also remembering other unarmed black people in the US that were killed by police in 2014, including Eric Garner, who died after being placed in a chokehold by a policeman in New York City in July.

About 100 protesters carrying signs gathered in San Francisco, California on Wednesday night and began a march that was planned to continue into Thursday morning.

“For you to tell us not to demonstrate against police murders, is absolutely unacceptable and we join with people all over the country, all over the world, who are continuing to build this campaign,” said D’Andre Teeter, an activist with the Bay Area Stop Mass Incarceration Network.

In Oakland, another city in California, dozens of people gathered downtown to protest the recent police killings. Local police increased the number of their patrols in the West Coast port city.

About 100 protesters also marched towards Times Square in New York but were blocked from entering the square by police because the area was extremely crowded with New Year’s revelers, the FBI said in a statement.

In Boston, Massachusetts, close to 100 people staged a “die-in” late Wednesday afternoon to simulate being dead.

“When kids see people dying in the middle of the square, maybe they’ll ask their parents, ‘Why is America like this?'” Martin Henson, one of the event’s organizers, said.

Similar protests were being held in other major cities, including Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit, Houston and Los Angeles.

The killing of several unarmed black men by white police officers in recent months and decisions by grand juries not to indict some of the officers has triggered large-scale protests across the US.

The unnecessary use of heavy-handed tactics by police as well as the racial profiling of some minorities has become a major concern in recent years.