Best views, weather, etc. How to test them 👓 SC, Ala. sites look back Betty Ford honored
NEWS
Michael Brown

Ferguson decision triggers nationwide protests

John Bacon and Gary Strauss
USA TODAY
Protesters lie down in a major intersection to block traffic in Los Angeles on Nov. 24  in reaction to the Ferguson grand jury decision.

Protesters from New York City to Oakland marched and chanted their discontent with the decision by a Missouri grand jury not to indict a white police officer in the August fatal shooting of an unarmed black teen.

But the demonstrations lacked the ugly violence that marred the outrage in Ferguson, Mo., where Michael Brown, 18, was killed by officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9.

In Oakland, 40 people were arrested after a peaceful march turned raucous, according to Mayor Jean Quan. Protesters lay in the middle of an intersection in silent protest, then marched down Broadway shouting, "Hands up, don't shoot," and "Black lives matter — all lives matter." Others set garbage cans on fire and vandalized or broke into stores.

In New York City, hundreds marched through Manhattan's Union Square on Monday holding signs saying "Jail Killing Cops" and "Resistance Is Justified." Protesters, initially penned in an area at the northern end of the square, pushed the metal police barriers aside and rushed toward the south toward Greenwich Village, passing holiday kiosks set up to sell crafts.

Anthony Sganga was in his Manhattan dorm around 12:45 a.m., when he saw hundreds of people marching downtown and chanting, "Hands up, don't shoot." However, by the time he got to the Brooklyn Bridge most of the protesters had already moved on

Yelling "No justice, no peace, no racist police" and "Hands up, don't shoot," the crowd of several hundred marched north to Times Square for a rally. New York Police Commissioner William Bratton arrived there around 10:45 p.m., and almost immediately got splashed with fake blood by a protester. He wasn't injured, police said.

The crowd later marched south, disrupting traffic along the way, before passing City Hall and heading across the Brooklyn Bridge.

In downtown Tempe, Ariz., about 60 people showed up at Tempe Town Lake, splintering into two groups after a verbal dispute over protest tactics. One group walked toward the Tempe police station and courts building chanting expletives and anti-police sentiments. The other group calmly walked in a different direction.

In Philadelphia, several hundred protesters marched through downtown Monday yelling "No justice, no peace, no racist police!" A similar protest of about 50 people in Pittsburgh was short-lived. Activists said they planned to regroup Tuesday at the federal courthouse.

Your Take contributor Tyler Costill captured the scene on South Street in Philadelphia, right after the grand jury decision in Ferguson, Mo.

About 15 people gathered in front of the Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse in Detroit earlier Monday night.

The small group prayed and joined hands in the bitter cold as they awaited the decision. Rev. Charles Williams II, senior pastor at the Historic King Solomon Baptist Church of Detroit and Michigan regional president for the National Network, said the protest was held to demand justice and call for the U.S. Department of Justice to step in and prosecute Wilson.

When the decision came down, the crowd was visibly upset, but many said they weren't surprised. "We're saying, 'No more,'" said Rev. Sylvester Davis, who has lived in Detroit for 65 years. "We're seeing a system where black men don't matter. We're open season. It's time for us to stop this mess. We want justice and equal rights."

In Sanford, Fla., about two dozen protesters marched to the local http://www.kare11.com/story/news/local/2014/11/25/minneapolis-high-school-students-protest-ferguson-decision/70091992/county courthouse to listen to the decision.

Many held signs and some tried to hold back tears as they expressed their anger and disappointment, WESH-TV reported.

Almost immediaely after the verdict was read, the group was led in prayer by Rev. Tyler Anderson.

"Our posture here tonight is not one of defeat. Not one of anger. Seems hard maybe to be able to say that, but our posture is prayer," said Anderson, WFTV reported. The group also honored the Brown family's request to observe four and a half minutes of silence.

Sanford is the site of the February 2012 shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, another unarmed African-American teen, by neighborhood watch member George Zimmerman.

In Minneapolis, students at several high schools protested peacefully, with about 500 students from South High School taking part in a sit-in then left the school and walked to the 3rd Precinct and then left. Those students will not be allowed back in the school today.

Students at South, Southwest, Roosevelt, Edison, Patrick Henry and North gathered to discuss the case and protest the decision, KARE-TV reports.

Minneapolis Public Schools released a statement that said, "We will not discipline students for the act of protesting as long as the protest remains peaceful. However, prolonged protests may result in an unexcused absence from class." The schools are providing school social workers and other adults to speak with students about Ferguson "as needed."

In Chicago, several hundred people marched from police headquarters to the Loop Monday night, closing down Lake Shore Drive, the Chicago Tribune reported. The group rallied downtown for several hours. Police diverted traffic from the drive and officers on bicycles rode alongside the demonstrators, the newspaper said.

In Jackson, Miss., a group pf protesters blocked the Pearl Street bridge, backing up traffic. They held signs that read, "Defend black life" and "Justice for Mike Brown." Police said the protesters dispersed without incident when police arrived, The Clarion Ledger reports.

In Los Angeles, rocked by riots in 1992 after the acquittal of police officers in the beating of Rodney King, about 100 people gathered in Leimert Park.

Activist Najee Ali met with police last week to discuss plans for a peaceful gathering in response to the Ferguson case. Plans included having community members identify agitators who incite violence so officers can remove them from the crowd, he said.

"It was kind of unprecedented," Ali said of the meeting. "We never collaborate with the LAPD. They do what they do, and we do what we do."

Contributing: Detroit Free Press; Associated Press

Featured Weekly Ad