Mayor Bill de Blasio and his administration have altered the rules for street demonstrations expected after the grand jury decision in the Eric Garner police chokehold case.
NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said Tuesday that extra police officers will be on hand on Staten Island for the decision in Garner’s death.
As CBS2 Political Reporter Marcia Kramer reported, the officers will be going by a tolerant and tougher policy, and blocking traffic will not be on the approved list of activities for protesters.
Last week, protesters were marching around the city— angry about the grand jury decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting that killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. A week ago Tuesday night, the protesters blocked an entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel and shut down the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, and also completely blocked traffic on the FDR Drive and the West Side Highway.
Police said no such behavior will be tolerated when the grand jury rules in the Garner case. Bratton said Tuesday that he anticipates the grand jury will begin deliberations this week.
“If we ask you to get out of the street, you should probably get out of the street,” said NYPD Chief of Department James O’Neill. “We need to get traffic, and we need to get emergency vehicles through. We have to balance their rights with the rights of the other 8 1/2 million New Yorkers.”
Source: CBS New York
