NEW YORK — Thousands of people marched in the city for a second night to protest the decision to not indict a white policeman who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri.
The protests, which caused traffic gridlock in many parts of Manhattan, have been largely peaceful, with few arrests, including one after a protester tossed fake blood on the police commissioner in Times Square, officials said Tuesday.
The protesters gathered in Union Square on Tuesday night before splitting up into separate groups, chanting “No justice, no peace.” Some held signs saying “Jail killer cops” and “Justice for Mike Brown.”
One group marched uptown to Times Square, meandering through traffic as police followed. Some protesters tried to walk into the Lincoln Tunnel but were blocked by police. Another group marched west on 14th Street and swarmed around vehicles as they shouted “Hands up, don’t shoot” before turning south.
The protesters, who seemed to grow in number as the night wore on, also caused traffic disruptions on the FDR Drive and congregated at the entrances to the Williamsburg and Manhattan bridges and the Queens Midtown Tunnel.
Commissioner William Bratton said the police department was giving protesters “breathing room” to express outrage over Monday’s grand jury decision in the shooting death of Michael Brown.
PHOTOS: NY police commissioner hit with fake blood
“As long as they remain nonviolent, and as long as they don’t engage in issues that cause fear or create vandalism, we will work with them to allow them to demonstrate,” he said.
Bratton said he was hit with fake blood tossed by a protester who was arrested on an assault charge. Bratton took the Monday night incident in stride, joking that the substance was “vegetable-based” and that he hoped it would come out of the suit he wore. Another person was arrested Monday night for throwing a bottle at police.
A small group gathered outside federal court in Brooklyn on Tuesday in one of several demonstrations organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network. It was joined briefly by city Comptroller Scott Stringer, who said the more measured reaction in the city on Monday night shouldn’t be misinterpreted.
“Just because people acted in a very responsible way doesn’t mean that there’s not a lot of pain being felt in this city,” Stringer said. “There are parents whose heart goes out to the Brown family.”
About a dozen minority City Council members briefly walked out of a meeting at City Hall, chanting “black lives matter” and then later “hands up, don’t shoot” before returning to the meeting.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said there need to be changes, but not through violence like the destruction of police cars and the torching of businesses in Ferguson protests.
“The family lost their son. They are in a lot of pain. They’ve been in a lot of pain since the tragedy occurred,” he said. “In the end, what we ought to try to do is alleviate people’s suffering. So the first thing we should think about is the Brown family and everything they are going through.”
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