By Mustafa Caglayan
NEW YORK
Demonstrations continued across the U.S. on Monday to seek justice for a black unarmed teen who was shot dead by a white police officer.
Activists and students from dozens of cities from New York to San Francisco walked out of jobs and schools in the afternoon to protest recent cases of police violence against blacks, which ignited a debate about race relations in the country.
In New York City, as many as 200 high school and college students held a walkout with their hands up at 1.01 pm, the time 18-year-old Michael Brown was killed Aug. 9 by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri.
Demonstrators marched from Manhattan's Union Square to Times Square, where they staged a four-minute die-in – one minute for each hour that Brown's body was left uncovered in the street after being killed.
A Missouri grand jury declined to indict Wilson last week for the killing and the officer resigned from the police force on Saturday without a severance package.
New York City police made several arrests during the occasionally meandering march, including a Turkish man named Olcay Sesen.
While seeking justice for the dead teen, protesters also wanted to highlight perceived injustices within the U.S. justice system.
Protesters carried placards that read, "Black Lives Matter," "Against Police Tyranny" and "Hands Up Don't Shoot," referring to the rallying cry for protesters following Brown’s death. Several witnesses said before Brown was killed, he had his hands raised above his head in the universal sign of surrender.
Also on Monday, a speech by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was interrupted by protesters in Atlanta.
Chants of "No justice, no peace" and "It is our duty to fight” were heard just moments into Holder’s remarks at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the home of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.
Security officials quickly escorted the protesters out of the auditorium.
In an unrelated case, activists are also awaiting a New York grand jury’s decision whether to bring charges against another white New York Police Department officer for using a banned department chokehold against unarmed black Eric Garner.
A decision in that case is expected soon.
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