After the grand jury declined to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the homicide of 18-year-old Michael Brown, protests erupted around the country. New York City saw one of the largest showings, with thousands flooding the streets around Times Square to speak out against police brutality and lack of accountability.
While the gathering was largely peaceful, the NYPD probably had better days. On scene was police commissioner William Bratton, who may have been the last person many in the crowd wanted to see.
As he worked his way through the crowd, an unidentified protester tossed fake blood on him and officers standing nearby. Activist Jeff Rae and photographer-activist Jenna Pope, who were among the crowd, managed to capture the scene only seconds after it happened.
Far away from Ferguson, Bratton became the face of New York’s police problem as he and his staff managed to spectucularly botch the handling of the choking death of an unarmed black man named Eric Garner, who’s only crime was allegedly selling cigarettes on a street corner illegally. Despite video of officers brutally holding the man down as he cries out for help and screams “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” an internal investigation by the NYPD found that the there was no wrongdoing by officers.
Tensions rose again this week when another officer accidentally killed an another unarmed black man who was simply walking down a darkened stairwell in an apartment building. The officer claims his gun simply went off. The NYPD has said it was a tragic accident but nothing more.
What happened to Michael Brown in Ferguson is quickly becoming a symbol of a larger, systemic problem that pervades the interactions of law enforcement and minorities across the country. No community is immune, but New York has a particularly dark and egregious history with police abuse. It is unsurprising that New Yorkers are now letting their officers know of their dissatisfaction in a very, very colorful way.
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/11...rguson-images/