|
 Renewed protests erupted last week after a grand jury decided not
to charge a white New York police officer over the chokehold death
in July of Eric Garner, an unarmed black father of six.
Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and other players donned
T-shirts with the words "I CAN'T BREATHE" -- Garner's last words in
a widely watched video -- while warming up at the Staples Center for
a Tuesday night home game.
Their move came a night after Cleveland Cavalier standout LeBron
James and others wore similar shirts before a game at the Barclays
Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York.
The decision not to charge Pantaleo came roughly a week after a
Missouri grand jury had failed to indict white police officer Darren
Wilson for fatally shooting black teenager Michael Brown in August
in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson.
The two killings have highlighted strained relations between police
and black Americans, rekindling a national debate over race
relations in the country and spurring weeks of protests in major
U.S. cities.
In Berkeley, California, a left-leaning city with a history of
social activism, hundreds of people faced off against a line of
officers in riot gear outside police headquarters on Tuesday.
"All these incidents – it's not just one occurrence. And that's why
I'm outraged," said protester Marsalis Johnson, 19, a bike mechanic
from Berkeley, who was protesting in nearby Oakland.
"As a young black man I always feel like a target."
Later, dozens of demonstrators briefly made their way onto State
Route 24 in Oakland, snarling traffic before being pushed off by
police. California Highway Patrol spokesman Daniel Hill said some
protesters threw rocks and incendiary devices at officers, while
some tried to launch fireworks at police helicopters.
Hill said about 13 people were arrested. Berkeley police said six
people, including one juvenile, were also arrested overnight.
A planned meeting of the Berkeley City Council was canceled earlier
on Tuesday after demonstrators vowed to shut it down. An area
station of a regional commuter line was closed in what officials
blamed on a "civil disturbance".
The previous night, more than 150 protesters were arrested around
Berkeley after shutting down a major freeway and throwing rocks at
police.
[to top of second column] |
"BRIDGING THE DIVIDE"
Footage broadcast by CNN also showed dozens demonstrating inside New
York's Grand Central Terminal on Tuesday night, hours after New York
Police Commissioner William Bratton vowed to repair relations with
poor and minority communities.
He said the department would retrain its members in nonviolent ways
of making arrests, on the same day that New York police officers
shot and killed a man who stabbed a rabbinical student from Israel
in a Brooklyn synagogue - a shooting that Bratton said appeared
justified.
"The reality is that there is a divide between the police and some
people in communities that need us most, but that divide can be
bridged," Bratton told a New York business group. "The reality is
that the people and the police can be partners."
The National Basketball Association said on Tuesday it would take no
action against players, including LeBron James, for wearing the "I
Can't Breathe," shirts.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he supports players voicing their
opinions on social issues, but would prefer they abide by the rule
that stipulates players wear clothing made by Adidas, the league's
official apparel provider.
Police in Phoenix on Tuesday released the name of Mark Rine, the
30-year-old white officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man
during what authorities described as a struggle last week. Roughly
200 activists took to the streets, demanding his identity be made
public.
(Additional reporting by Peter Henderson and Stephen Lam in Oakland,
California, and Emmett Berg in San Francisco; Writing by Alex
Dobuzinskis and Curtis Skinner; Editing by Gareth Jones)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
