Berkeley Protesters Shut Down I-80 as Demonstrations Over Deaths of Eric Garner, Michael Brown Continue

Protests continued for a third night.

Protests over the police killings of Eric Garner and Michael Brown continued in Berkeley, Calif. last night as demonstrators blocked traffic on Interstate 80 for two hours.

The California Highway Patrol told the Associated Press that protesters blocked traffic on both sides of the highway last night. Police also claim that protesters hurled rocks and other objects at them. The Associated Press adds that the protests began peacefully, remaining that way until the crowd dispersed into smaller groups: 

A large group began peacefully marching Monday through downtown Berkeley. The first stop for demonstrators shouting, "Who do you protect? Peaceful protest" was the Police Department, where a line of officers in riot gear blocked them from getting close to the building. The group then headed to a Bay Area Rapid Transit train station and sat outside, prompting authorities to shut down the station briefly.

The Associated Press adds that nearly 160 people were arrested in total.

The protests continued in Berkeley for a third consecutive night in response to a Staten Island grand jury's failure to indict NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo last week for his role in Garner's death. One week prior, a St. Louis County, Mo. grand jury decided not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson for fatally shooting the 18-year-old Brown in the St. Louis suburb back in August. 

[via Associated Press]

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