NEW YORK — Thousands of people expressing grief, anger and hope for a better future marched peacefully through Staten Island on Saturday to protest the chokehold death of an unarmed black man by a white police officer.
The rally was led by the Rev. Al Sharpton and relatives of Eric Garner, who died July 17 after a New York Police Department officer took him to the ground with a banned tactic in a confrontation captured on video.
The marchers started near a makeshift memorial of flowers, signs and candles set up where Garner was wrestled down and handcuffed. They carried a banner: “We Will Not Go Back, March for Justice.”
Police estimated at least 2,500 people had taken to the streets. City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Zephyr Teachout marched, too.
Diana Smith-Baker, a white Manhattan resident and Quaker, said it was important for people of all races and religions to bring attention to “the inequities toward black people and Hispanic people by the police department.”
James O’Neill, police chief of patrol, credited march organizers for the peaceful turnout.
Earlier, Sharpton warned about 100 marchers at a Staten Island church to remain nonviolent or go home. Garner’s widow, Esaw, also urged a peaceful march. She asked marchers to “get justice” for her husband.
Protesters walked alongside dozens of police officers in parade gear. There were also officers in formal blue uniforms, but none had riot gear.
