National
NYC Protesters Defy Mayor’s Call for Moratorium
In this Dec. 4, 2014 file photo, demonstrators participate in a rally against a grand jury’s decision not to indict the police officer involved in the death of Eric Garner, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
(USA Today) – Defying Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plea for a moratorium on protests over police conduct, hundreds of demonstrators in New York City briefly blocked busy Fifth Avenue on Tuesday night amid last-minute Christmas shopping and tributes to two slain officers.
Marchers were peaceful and generally kept to the sidewalks as they worked their way through the packed Midtown shopping district, media reported.
De Blasio had called for a halt to protests until after the funeral of two NYPD officers who were gunned down Saturday by a man angry over the police killings of Eric Garner, Michael Brown and other unarmed black men.
Police Commissioner William Bratton, who was in Rhode Island, called Tuesday’s protest “unfortunate” in light of de Blasio’s request.
