Families, Students March To End Police Brutality
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- On the second anniversary of a Staten Island jury acquitting Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the chokehold death of Eric Garner, about 100 people marched through Harlem with the families of those killed at the hands of police officers with a renewed call to end police brutality.
Andy Gomez, who's cousin was shot and killed by two NYPD housing officers in November, said that it was important for him to be there Saturday.
Police say his cousin, Erickson Gomez, beat them after stealing their baton during a confrontation inside a housing development.
Attorney Sanford Rubenstein says he's represented 20 families over the last 15 years who have lost loved ones to police violence in New York City.
He tells WCBS 880's Myles Miller that special prosecutors should take over cases any time a person is killed in a police confrontation.
Under current New York State law, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is allowed to serve as special council in cases where unarmed civilians are killed by police.
Dozens of students from South Bronx Community High School marched Saturday.
"You could just imagine that being your own brother, or your father," said one student named Mustafa.
"What these families want, what these students want, is to stop the violence," said Rubenstein. "They want the killing to stop."
Those who marched Saturday are calling for December 3rd to be named a national day of remembrance for those who have been lost.
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