NYC Officials Expect More Outrage At Protests After Deadly Police-Involved Shooting In Atlanta
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - New York City officials are expecting increased outrage at protests Sunday after an Atlanta police officer was fired following the deadly shooting of Rayshard Brooks.
Sunday marks the 18th straight day of protests in New York.
Protesters have been calling for police reform, and on Friday Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed several bills into law.
Round-the-clock protests continued early Saturday. At 6 a.m., demonstrators in Greenwich Village chanted "no justice, no sleep," reported CBS2's Natalie Duddridge.
Some were local; others traveled here to be part of the movement.
"I drove down from Boston yesterday to come and do this, and I'm happy to be a part of this and to use my voice and my privilege to make a change," protester Jeremy Perron said.
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One group called "Asians for Black Lives" was among those gathering at Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village.
"Systemic racism has existed in America for so long and I feel like there needs to be more unity amongst POCs, people of color, across the board," protester Jaeki Cho told CBS2's Cory James.
"I think this is the first time I've seen everyone come together, all races, all nations around the entire world to come together to fight for us, for our people," protester Jordan Armstrong said.
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As they prepared to walk over a mile to Foley Square, up in Harlem, Sen. Brian Benjamin was wrapping up his rally where people celebrated the signing of the Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold Act.
The new law in New York bans the use of chokeholds by law enforcement and makes it so that a police officer who injures or kills someone through the use of a chokehold or similar restraint can be charged with a Class C felony and face up to 15 years in prison.
"With this bill, anyone who commits that act again will be held accountable and will do jail time. I think that sends a clear message to the police. Let's have fairness and you treat everybody the same," Benjamin said.
Garner's mom, Gwen Carr, says she is happy this change finally happened.
"This is a form of justice. It's a step in the right direction," Carr said.
Some protesters say their continued efforts will not stop until more is done.
"I'm so happy and relieved that America is finally waking up and seeing what needs to happen," protester Chris Scaduto said.
"I hope it keeps going until systematic change happens," protester Victoria Shamahoyan said.
There were about 30 protests throughout the city on Saturday, including a group of bikers that rode through Bushwick, Brooklyn.
Some of the cyclists blocked an intersection, but after a while, they moved on.
Police said late Saturday night that the day's protests were peaceful.