Protesters Put 'Hands Up' over Ferguson, Obama to Move on Police Body Cameras
Protesters around the U.S. demonstrated Monday with their hands in the air in tribute to Michael Brown, the young black man killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.
As part of the "Hands Up Walk Out" campaign, thousands of protesters gathered at universities and workplaces for midday demonstrations around the time Brown was killed on August 9.
In New York, hundreds of young mostly white students sat for a minute of silence in Times Square before chanting "hands up, don't shoot" and "no justice no peace."
Signs at the demonstration read: “Jail killer cops,” “Ferguson is everywhere,” and “Black lives matter."
The hands up gesture and the "hands up, don't shoot" slogan have been adopted by protesters in homage to what some witnesses said was Brown's last move before being shot.
"Our communities are hurting and justifiably angered," said Ferguson Action, the group that organized the demonstrations to protest a grand jury's decision not to charge 28-year-old Darren Wilson, the officer who killed Brown.
The group asked protesters to read out the names of "victims of police violence," such as 12-year-old Tamir Rice who was recently gunned down by police officers in Ohio while handling a toy pistol.
Other protests Monday took place across the country including in the states Massachusetts, California, Texas and Georgia. In the capital, Washington, dozens of people gathered outside the Justice Department.
The decision not to indict Wilson prompted riots in Ferguson and raised racial tensions across the country last week. Wilson had said he acted in self-defense.
Meanwhile, the White House said Monday that President Barack Obama will seek to release funds aimed at equipping more U.S. police officers with body cameras.
The president -- who met with civil rights and law enforcement leaders amid ongoing protests over a grand jury decision not to charge the white police officer in the shooting -- ruled out reducing federal sales of surplus military equipment to police forces.
Instead the president said he would issue an executive order with new guidance for the controversial program, which sparked renewed debate after images during the first protests in Ferguson showed police perched on armored trucks aiming rifles at demonstrators.
"We found that in many cases, these programs actually serve a very useful purpose," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest, citing the example of Boston police drawing on military-grade equipment after the bombings at the city's marathon in April 2013.
Obama is also proposing a three-year, $263 million investment package that will increase the use of body-worn cameras and expand training for law enforcement agencies.
Calls for police officers to wear micro-cameras fitted to uniforms have mounted since Brown was killed.
As part of the initiative, a partnership program would provide a 50 percent match to states and localities who purchase body-worn cameras.
The goal of the investment is to have 50,000 more body cameras in use within three years, the White House said in a statement.
Source: Agence France Presse
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