Minneapolis Ferguson Protests Draw Hundreds, Car Hits Protester
MINNEAPOLIS (AP/WCCO) — Two Minneapolis rallies to demonstrate against the grand jury's decision in Ferguson, Missouri, drew several hundred people on Tuesday, with a scary moment when a car struck one protester and then burst through a pack of other protesters when they quickly surrounded it.
Police said a woman suffered minor injuries and was taken to a hospital by ambulance. Footage from a news helicopter appeared to show at least one person being driven over as the car left the scene near the city's 3rd Precinct police station.
The driver called police soon after to report the incident, and police spokesman Scott Seroka said no one was arrested.
The rally near the 3rd Precinct and an earlier gathering at the University of Minnesota both drew hundreds of people carrying signs and chanting slogans in an effort to show solidarity with Michael Brown, the black teenager shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson in August. Ferguson erupted in violence Monday night after a grand jury declined to indict the officer.
On the steps of the university's Coffman Union, demonstrators sat down for 4 ½ minutes of silence to mark the 4 ½ hours that Brown's body reportedly lay in the street after he was shot. Some carried signs that read, "Black lives matter" and "No justice, no peace" and speakers called for an end to racial discrimination.
Nivedita Sriram, 18, a freshman from Darien, Illinois, said the grand jury's decision showed "systematic injustice."
"It's shown our system is broken," she said.
One of the rally's organizers, Black Student Union president Michael Ampaabeng, addressed the crowd through a bullhorn: "We believe the family of Michael Brown deserves due process and their day in court."
Later, protesters marched across campus, chanting: "What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now" and "If we don't get it — shut it down."
Just after 7 p.m., Minneapolis Police stopped another driver after he drove his van through protesters who appeared to be blocking his vehicle.
Other rallies were planned in St. Paul and Duluth.
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