45 Arrested as Mass Protests Against Police Brutality Sweep Nation

More than 50,000 people took to the streets in New York along with thousands in other cities including Washington, Berkeley, Atlanta, Oakland and Boston. 

Oakland police spokesman said 2,500 to 3,000 people held a largely peaceful march in the downtown area, hours later a crowd of about 500 remained and officers began making arrests. At least 45 people were arrested.

In New York, protesters gathered at Washington Square Park and made their way to One Police Plaza, the headquarters of the New York Police Department. Protesters wore heavy clothing in the cold December weather.

Various chants could be heard including "Hands up, don't shoot," and "How do you spell racist?" "NYPD!" A sea of signs floated down the street, most asking to stop police brutality, others saying "Black Lives Matter!" One read "The fabric of our society is torn apart by racism."

The protests blocked traffic and impacted some businesses but they stayed peaceful throughout and there were no reports of mass arrests. 

"Our tax dollars pay for the police force and we feel that our tax dollars shouldn’t go to people who abuse their power,” organizer Umaara Elliott, 19, told Sputnik. "And the businesses are supporting police efforts, so causing disruption and shutting down and disrupting businesses is important."

Jael Humphrey, attorney for Lambda Legal, said the police legally "didn't even have to touch" Eric Garner. Garner, 43, an overweight street peddler selling untaxed cigarettes, died from a chokehold put on him by officer Daniel Pantaleo in New York on July 19.

"They could have simply written a summons or a ticket" Humprhey told Sputnik. "It was totally unjustified to tackle him — they don't go after white collar criminals in that way."

She added that the Rodney King incident motivated Congress to pass legislation to have the federal government investigate such cases of police brutality

"Basically, brutality targeted against communities of color should be handled by the justice department," she said.

Jael Lewis, 17, high school senior marching while holding a "No justice, No peace" told Sputnik the rally made her "feel empowered."

"My uncle is a cop so it's not a cop thing for me," she said. "It's about the fact that they got away with murder. They claim they were following the rules. Well, then the rules have to change. It tells you that it's a systemic problem with our justice system. These guys have to face consequences."

Lewis added that the day was one about "solidarity" regarding an issue that impacts everyone.

"It doesn't matter if you're black, Chinese or whatever," she said. "We all want to change the systemic problem in our system of justice."

Tyler Gabriel, a black protester from New Jersey in his mid-30s, told Sputnik that he came out because he felt it was "time for change."

"Racial tensions were always underneath the surface, but consecutive incidents like with Garner and Brown, it's just too much," he said. "Someone needs to be held accountable."

Gabriel added that he didn't believe that most cops were "bad" or racist but those that committed brutality needed to be dealt with.

"Who is going to protect us from the bad cops?" he rhetorically asked. "This isn't just a black thing… look at all these people marching… of different colors. We all are calling for justice."

Below is a timeline of some of the more significant incidents.

21:05 ET:  Police stop protesters in San Francisco from entering Union Square. 

21:00 ET:  Protests continue in Brooklyn. Organizers describe some 2,000 demonstrators marching, after formal rally has ended.

20:21 ET: Oakland police orders protesters to disperse.

20:17 ET:  Time lapse video shows just how big the protest in New York was today.

19:14 ET: Samuel L. Jackson calls for other celebrities to denounce “Violence of the Racist Police” on his Facebook page.

18:40 ET: Police are now facing-off with protesters in New York. "Trouble brewing?"

18:38 ET: Oakland appears to be picking up where the East Coast left off.

18:29 ET: "After the Rodney King incident, Congress passed legislation to allow the federal government to investigate similar cases of police brutality. Basically, brutality targeted against communities of color should be handled by the justice department." — Jael Humphrey, attorney for Lambda Legal

18:29 ET: Organizer Lizzie Horne: "Crowds are beginning to disperse but the energy is still high. Amazing work today everyone!"

18:22 ET: Sputnik reporter on ground in New York: Protest concluding, organizers say "Thank you so much for all your support today."

18:20 ET: Rally in New York is coming to an end at One Police Plaza but protesters are staying around and chanting.

18:15 ET: "Legally they didn't even have to touch garner," Jael Humphrey told Sputnik. "It was inappropriate. They could have simply written a summons or a ticket. It was totally unjustified to tackle him — they don't go after white collar criminals in that way."

18:11 ET: "We need structural change and hopefully this movement can be a catalyst to change policies." Jael Humphrey, attorney for Lambda Legal, an organization that seeks equality of law for all citizens, told Sputnik.

18:08 ET: Great photo showing the masses of protesters in Washington Square Park. 

18:06 ET: "Which side of history will you be on?" asks a protest banner.

18:04 ET: Protester Roberta Pluma describes "intense, moving speeches" from relatives of those killed in police incidents, as 50,000-strong rally shows signs of coming to an end.

17:47 ET: Live video of protests still going in New York City, eight hours after they started.

17:42 ET: Protests are just getting started in Oakland, California.

17:36 ET: Protesters in New York are now occupying One Police Plaza, the headquarters for the NYPD.

17:08 ET: Crowds gathering in San Francisco

16:30 ET:  "We have not had any arrests. The protest has been very peaceful, this far. We expect things to go very peacefully for the rest of the evening," the spokesman told Sputnik.

16:29 ET:  A New York police spokesman told Sputnik that there have been no arrests or reports of violence from Saturday's protests.

16:25 ET: Former officer Lewis's sign: "Past police officer. Disgusted with brutal cops. Whole system is guilty."

16:20 ET: Former Philadelphia police officer Ray Lewis seen at anti-police brutality rally in New York.

16:17 ET: "We need black folk to vote. We need change, political change. New laws or new procedures to protect us." — protester Tyler Gabriel.

16:15 ET: "There are good cops and bad cops. However, the people need protection. Who is going to protect us from the bad cops?" protester Tyler Gabriel told Sputnik.

16:13 ET: "We need to see some change. Racial tensions were always underneath the surface, but consecutive incidents like with Garner and Brown, it's just too much," Tyler Gabriel, a black protester from New Jersey told Sputnik. "Someone needs to be held accountable." 

16:05 ET:  Protesters are chanting nearby police, "Indict, convict, send those killer cops to jail. The whole damn system is guilty as hell."

15:59 ET:  From our reporter on the ground in New York: One woman protester holds banner saying: "The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire".

15:56 ET:  A Vine post gives a sense of how big the protest in DC is.

15:52 ET:  NYPD is saying that 50,000 to 60,000 people are participating in the rally.

15:49 ET:  "Die-ins" are popping up all over New York and other protest cities. 

15:45 ET:  Photo: Why yes that is Hawai'i getting in on the rally action. 

15:43 ET:  Darlene Cain, whose son Dale Graham was killed by Baltimore Police, was seen at the rally in DC today.

15:39 ET:  Banner seen at New York march reads "Real thugs wear flag pins."

15:33 ET:  The front of the New York march has reached 24th Street on Sixth Avenue. Crowd stretches back as far as Washington Square Park, 17 blocks to the south.  - Sputnik reporter on the ground in New York.

15:30 ET:  Berkeley protesters come across a lynched dummy wearing a t-shirt reading "I can't breath."

15:28 ET:  Protestors wear heavy clothing in cold December weather. One banner reads: The fabric of our society is torn apart by racism. — Sputnik reporter on the ground in New York.

15:26 ET:  Demonstrators, mostly young adults of all races, protest peacefully, carrying banners with such slogans as "We want justice".  - Sputnik reporter on the ground in New York.

15:23 ET:  Protesters are holding up boards to assemble an image of Eric Garner's face in the street. Garner was killed in a chokehold by police in July. — Sputnik reporter on the ground in New York.

15:20 ET:  Photo: Protesters fill Fifth Avenue in New York for several city blocks.

15:15 ET:  The rally in Washington is huge, "even by DC standards."

15:14 ET:  A rally has sprung up in Detroit, Michigan.

15:11 ET:  Photo from New York: The world is watching… and so is Eric Garner. 

15:08 ET:  Marchers have begun their procession over police race violence and head up Fifth Avenue, approaching 14th Street. — Sputnik News reporter on scene in New York.

15:04 ET:  Spike Lee is seen marching with protesters in Washington. 

15:01 ET:  Eric Garner's eyes are unveiled over the crowd at Washington Square Park.

14:49 ET:  Washington Square Park is getting packed.

14:28 ET: Thousands begin marching in New York City

14:22 ET:  Protesters in Boston say riot police are being told to "put their face shields on"

14:17 ET:  Photo: Subway stations and trains are packed to the max as protesters make their way to Washington Square Park.

14:15 ET:  Eric Garner's daughter calls for a moment of silence. After she lead the crowd into chants of "Hands up, don't shoot" and "No justice, no peace."

14:14 ET:  Crowd is lining up along Fifth Avenue. Protesters are advised to join at the rear of the march, in Washington Square Park. — Sputnik reporter on scene in New York.

14:11 ET:  "Hands up, don't shoot!" is echoing throughout Greenwich village. Washington Square Park is now packed with thousands and thousands. — Sputnik reporter on scene in New York.

14:06 ET:  The mother of Amadou Diallo: 16 years later, we are still demanding the same thing.

14:04 ET:  Marchers begin taking the streets in Austin, TX, linking arms and chanting "I can't breathe."

14:01 ET:  Crowds are gathering in Chicago (at State &Jackson) and in Memphis.

13:59 ET:  Crowd is getting larger in Washington Square Park and demonstrators are preparing to begin their march over fears of police racism. "The crowd is growing! Getting ready to move up Fifth Avenue shortly," said organizer Lizzi Horne.

13:56 ET:  "My husband was a quiet man in life but he's making a lot of noise right now," Esaw Garner, wife of Eric Garner who was strangled to death by police in New York.

13:50 ET:  Al Shaprton: "That’s not black against white. It’s right against wrong. That’s why whites and blacks are here together. This is an American march for the rights of American people.”

13:49 ET:  Samaria Rice: Officer who shot Tamir should go to court "prove his innocence and we can prove our justice."

13:45 ET:  "This is a great moment, a history making moment," Gwen Carr told the crowd.

13:42 ET:  "We need to stand like this at all times," Gwen Carr, Eric Garners mother, tells protesters.

13:40 ET:  America's neighbors to the north join the movement and hold a die-in in Toronto.

13:36 ET:  Al Sharpton:  "You can bury us, but you didn't know you were burying seeds."

13:33 ET:  Al Sharpton:  "We're not anti-police, but anti-brutality." 

13:32 ET:  Secretary of Education Arne Duncan seen marching today.

 13:20 ET:  Reports are saying 400 protesters from Ferguson came to DC for the event. 

13:15 ET:  The spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. feels present as Washington begins looking like the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Justice.

13:11 ET:  Protesters perform "die-in" in front of the Federal Courthouse in Newark.

13:03 ET:  Thousands arriving at Capitol Hill where they will hear from the families of victims of Eric Garner, Mike Brown, Tamir Rice and others. 

13:00 ET:  Protesters are filling up the street while marching down Pennsylvania Avenue.

12:58 ET:  Protesters in Los Angeles gearing up for a rally at Pershing Square to start at noon local time.

12:50 ET:  People are already gathering in Washington Square Park in New York for another rally to start at 2 p.m.

12:46 ET:  Cincinnati is joining the rallies and protests.

12:26 ET:  Nice panorama of the growing crowd in DC.

12:23 ET:  Miss the meeting point and want to know where the protests are? Check here, courtesy NewsOne.

12:18 ET:  Eric Garner's widow is in DC.

12:14 ET:  Huge crowd gathering in front of the Massachusetts State House in Boston.

12:08 ET:  The crowd in DC is now taking up Freedom Plaza. Looks like its hitting the thousands.

11:59 ET:  Hundreds are already gathered ready to march in DC.

11:52 ET: Here's the planned route for the march.