Photo by AP/Jason DeCrow
From the streets of New York to the campus of Harvard University to a shopping mall in London, people have been staging "die-ins" all across the world in recent weeks to protest police brutality in the US after two grand juries in separate states declined to prosecute two white police officers in the deaths of unarmed black men earlier this year.The die-ins, where protesters lie motionless for a predetermined amount of time, have been meant to commemorate to people killed by police, most recently embodied by Michael Brown and Eric Garner. On Wednesday, medical students across the US participated in more than 70 separate die-ins, some even sporting their white lab coats. The die-ins even spread to London, with police arresting 76 people at a mall after they reportedly damaged property.NYC police union head says garner made the choice to resist arrest on the day he was killed. Read more here.Both the Brown and Garner deaths have brought the issues of policing and race relations to the forefront of American discourse, with marches and protests becoming pervasive since the Missouri grand jury decision was announced late last month.
Advertisement
A majority of die-ins held recently have included both signs and chants of "I can't breathe" — a phrase now synonymous with Garner, whose death during an attempted arrest in Staten Island this summer grabbed national attention.Video footage of the incident shows a New York Police Department officer with his arm wrapped around Garner's neck in an apparent chokehold. During the deadly struggle, Garner can be heard saying "I Can't Breathe" multiple times. His death was ultimately ruled a homicide by the city's chief medical examiner.University of Chicago Medical School — PNHP (@PNHP)December 10, 2014
MOST EERIE DIE-IN PIC goes to students at Harvard Med. Damn — Raqiyah Mays (@RaqiyahMays)December 10, 2014
Protesters stage a 'die-in' at Westfield shopping centre in West London — The Telegraph (@Telegraph)December 10, 2014
A New York grand jury last week decided not to charge the officer — Daniel Pantaleo — in Garner's death, further sparking protests against police brutality and race relations that were reignited when a Missouri grand jury chose not to indict Darren Wilson, a Ferguson police officer who shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown in August.Brown was unarmed at the time of his killing, but authorities maintain that Brown attacked Wilson and that the officer was justified in pulling the trigger. Some witnesses say that Brown was retreating and had raised his hands in surrender when Wilson fired the final shots.Amazing. '— Mike Brown March (@mikebrownmarch)December 10, 2014
Advertisement
NYPD cop involved in Eric Garner's death tells investigator he did not use a chokehold. Read more here.Follow Payton Guion on Twitter @PaytonGuionMy alma-mater. MT — Brandon Gates (@TheBGates)December 9, 2014