Above Photo:Â Scott Heins/Gothamist
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Manhattan last night, demanding an end to nationwide systemic racism and police brutality in the wake of three widely-publicized killings of black men by law enforcement officers. Saturday’s protest was led by Zayanahla Vines, the nephew of Delrawn Small, who was shot and killed by an off-duty NYPD officer during a Brooklyn road rage incident last week.
Protesters shut down traffic on many busy roadways, including the FDR Drive, as they waved homemade signs and called out to bystanders, encouraging them to join the march and demand justice for Small, Philando Castile, and Alton Sterling, all of whom were killed by police in the past six days. Protesters marched for over four hours, moving from City Hall to Union Square, and north through Midtown. An NYPD spokesperson confirmed that roughly 20 demonstrators were arrested, with most charged for disorderly conduct.
The protest began just after 7:30 p.m. Saturday in lower Manhattan, where Vines, 22, expressed his grief at losing his uncle. “Whether you want to admit it or not, we’re out here dying from police, and the police are allowed to walk free,” Vines said. “We can’t stand for this any longer. It’s not right, and we all know it’s not right.”
NO JUSTICE NO PEACE. NYC has FDR drive shut down!! #BlackLivesMatter #DelrawnSmall #AltonSterling #PhilandoCastile pic.twitter.com/5rE55MC3Pg
— Millions March NYC (@MillionsMarch) July 10, 2016
NYC is holding a strong line on the highway. FDR is SHUT DOWN! #BlackLivesMatter #NoJusticeNoPeace pic.twitter.com/ltzdPHjOJn
— Millions March NYC (@MillionsMarch) July 10, 2016
Small, 37, was shot by off-duty NYPD officer Wayne Isaacs in East New York in the early morning hours of July 4th. Newly-released surveillance video shows Small exiting his vehicle and rushing at Isaacs’ car. Despite earlier claims that Small had repeatedly punched Isaacs, the footage reveals that as he approached the officer’s window he was shot almost immediately.
Isaacs has been placed on administrative duty, and the New York State Attorney General’s office is investigating the fatal shooting. “He needs to be in jail,” Vines said of his uncle’s killer Saturday. “He needs to be stripped from his titles. It needs to happen ASAP because my uncle is dead. I had to plan this and a funeral at the same time.”
“We’re not standing for it any longer. Nobody here is standing for it any longer. We’re going to march in silence for the fallen.” Out of respect for his uncle, Vines asked that protesters begin by marching to Union Square without chanting. But by the time marchers crossed Canal Street, Vines himself was leading chants of “No Justice, No Peace!” and “Black Lives Matter!” with a megaphone.
Saba Isidore, 17, expressed her sympathy for Vines. “I feel like he shouldn’t have to protest because his family died at the hands of those that are pledged to protect us. Police are supposed to protect our community, but all they’re doing is killing our community,” Isidore said. The Bronx resident said she’d once considered becoming a police officer, but feels she couldn’t do it now. “How could I?” she said. “If not all cops are bad, where are the good ones in times of need?”
When the march reached Union Square, the demonstration numbered about 1,000 people. As speakers took turns using a megaphone to address the crowd, one man suggested that dismissing all police officers as corrupt and violent was a dangerous generalization. That statement prompted boos from many in the crowd, who were taking a harder-line stance that the American justice system is racist and corrupt as a whole, and every police officer’s position within that system makes them an accessory to injustice. The argument went on for several heated minutes with no resolution, but with the NYPD closing in, the crowd collectively transitioned from ideological debate to moving protest, and began marching uptown.
VERY heated split along “some cops are good” vs. “FTP” ideology lines. #blacklivesmatter #delrawnsmall pic.twitter.com/CMKBBA5urO
— Scott Heins (@scottheins) July 10, 2016
NYPD has now forced #BlackLivesMatter march onto sidewalk while completely shutting down 7th w/insane show of force. pic.twitter.com/1sVjxawfDU
— Keegan Stephan (@KeeganNYC) July 10, 2016
Samantha Soriano, 20, joined the protest at Union Square and kept with one group that marched against traffic on 5th Avenue, through Midtown, and into Times Square. “I think that we all have to focus on the bigger picture of why we’re here: The fact that these innocent lives are being taken by the people that we should be trusting to protect us,” Soriano said. “I believe that people shouldn’t be over here arguing.”
“I do think that over-generalization and biases lead us into this situation, so we cannot go around spreading the same, saying that all officers are bad. That’s what got us here in the first place.”
