New York, December 24 (RHC)-- Protesters slamming police brutality in the United States have defied calls to end demonstrations. On Tuesday, a national coalition of activists announced plans for a mass demo in New York on New Year's Eve.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called for an end to the protests after two NYPD cops were killed by a deranged man on Sunday. Protesters defied the call and attended a march down the city’s 5th Avenue, one of the busiest shopping districts in New York, carrying signs that said "Jail Killer Cops."
"They have no right to tell us that we should back off our protests and we should silence our voices. Our voices must be heard," said Carl Dix, the co-founder of the Stop Mass Incarceration Network, outside City Hall. "Our stance should be as long as these murders by police happen, as long as the criminal justice system refuses to indict and convict any of these killer cops, then our resistance must go on."
The group called for more protests in Times Square, where thousands traditionally gather on New Year's Eve. "We're here today to call on people to rock in the New Year with resistance to police murder. No New Year under this old system," said protest organizer Travis Morales, urging activists to take to the streets on December 31st.
Protests were triggered by a grand jury decision not to indict police officer Daniel Pantaleo in Eric Garner's chokehold death in New York City, two weeks after another grand jury decided not to indict former policeman Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.