Thousands of demonstrators have
gathered in Washington in the United
States for a march to protest the
killings of unarmed black men by law
enforcement officers and to urge
Congress to do more to protect
African-Americans from unjustified
police violence.
Organisers said the event on Saturday
and a parallel march in New York City
would rank among the largest in the
recent wave of protests against the
killings of black males by officers in
Ferguson, Missouri, New York,
Cleveland and elsewhere.
Decisions by grand juries to return no
indictments against the officers
involved in the death of Michael Brown
in Missouri and Eric Garner in New
York have put the issue of police
treatment of minorities back on the
national agenda.
Thousands of people assembled in
Freedom Plaza, a couple of blocks
from the White House, before setting
off at noon on a three-mile march
down Pennsylvania Avenue for a rally
in front of the US Capitol.
“I came out today seeking justice and
also policy changing when it comes to
policing all throughout America,” said
Aisha Wilson, 37, from Paterson, New
Jersey.
The march was organised by National
Action Alliance, a civil rights
organisation headed by the Reverend
Al Sharpton.
“We need more than just talk,”
Sharpton said in a statement before
the march. “We need legislative action
that will shift things both on the books
and in the streets.”
Sharpton urged Congress to pass
legislation that would allow federal
prosecutors to take over cases
involving police. He said local district
attorneys often work with police
regularly, raising the potential of
conflicts of interest when prosecutors
investigate incidents, he said.
The Washington protest will include
the families of Eric Garner and Akai
Gurley, who were killed by New York
police; Trayvon Martin, slain by a
Florida neighbourhood watchman in
2012; and Michael Brown, killed by an
officer in Ferguson.
In New York, the march was expected
to draw about tens of thousands of
people and was meant to reinvigorate
protests that swelled after a grand jury
declined to indict the officer who killed
Garner using a chokehold, organisers
said.
gathered in Washington in the United
States for a march to protest the
killings of unarmed black men by law
enforcement officers and to urge
Congress to do more to protect
African-Americans from unjustified
police violence.
Organisers said the event on Saturday
and a parallel march in New York City
would rank among the largest in the
recent wave of protests against the
killings of black males by officers in
Ferguson, Missouri, New York,
Cleveland and elsewhere.
Decisions by grand juries to return no
indictments against the officers
involved in the death of Michael Brown
in Missouri and Eric Garner in New
York have put the issue of police
treatment of minorities back on the
national agenda.
Thousands of people assembled in
Freedom Plaza, a couple of blocks
from the White House, before setting
off at noon on a three-mile march
down Pennsylvania Avenue for a rally
in front of the US Capitol.
“I came out today seeking justice and
also policy changing when it comes to
policing all throughout America,” said
Aisha Wilson, 37, from Paterson, New
Jersey.
The march was organised by National
Action Alliance, a civil rights
organisation headed by the Reverend
Al Sharpton.
“We need more than just talk,”
Sharpton said in a statement before
the march. “We need legislative action
that will shift things both on the books
and in the streets.”
Sharpton urged Congress to pass
legislation that would allow federal
prosecutors to take over cases
involving police. He said local district
attorneys often work with police
regularly, raising the potential of
conflicts of interest when prosecutors
investigate incidents, he said.
The Washington protest will include
the families of Eric Garner and Akai
Gurley, who were killed by New York
police; Trayvon Martin, slain by a
Florida neighbourhood watchman in
2012; and Michael Brown, killed by an
officer in Ferguson.
In New York, the march was expected
to draw about tens of thousands of
people and was meant to reinvigorate
protests that swelled after a grand jury
declined to indict the officer who killed
Garner using a chokehold, organisers
said.
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