Hundreds of protesters have staged a “die-in” at the Westfield shopping centre in west London over the decision in New York not to indict a police officer in the death of Eric Garner.
The event was organised by the campaign group London Black Revs on Wednesday evening as part of a global wave of protest against a US grand jury’s ruling not to bring charges against Daniel Pantaleo, a New York police officer, for Garner’s death by chokehold.
The 43-year-old Garner died on Staten Island on 17 July after officers attempted to arrest him on suspicion of selling untaxed loose cigarettes. A US grand jury decided against charging anyone over the death earlier this month.
On a Facebook event page for the protest, the group wrote: “We would like to state that this is a non-violent demonstration and we will be joined by international media broadcasting our ‘Die-In’ back to the screens of black Americans in the USA. We need to make our voices loud and heard.”
Protesters chanted and waved placards saying “no justice, no peace” and “we can’t breathe”, in reference to Garner’s final words. They then played dead, bringing the shopping centre to a standstill. Reports on Twitter suggested some shops closed their shutters.
Eric Garner protest taking place inside Westfield, Shepherd's Bush pic.twitter.com/FsNgxfxc5X
— Chris Mendes (@ChrisMendesUK) December 10, 2014
Wail Qasim, a 21-year-old student taking part in the protest, said security guards stopped many people from entering the shopping centre, with this section of the crowd forming their own protest outside.
“Within Westfield there was a really big crowd, and when the organisers gave the signal there was a very loud die-in within the centre,” he said.
“It was a young crowd – and people were very angry. There was also visible support from people working in the shops who were cheering along as well.”
The crowds spilled out on to the nearby Uxbridge Road in Shepherd’s Bush to join the other protest, blocking traffic outside the Shepherd’s Bush Empire and staging another die-in.
They then heard speeches, including from Marcia Rigg, the sister of Sean Rigg, who died in 2008 after being arrested and restrained by police in south London. It was announced in October that two police officers whose evidence on oath about his death was contradicted by CCTV evidence would not face criminal charges. Referencing his case, Qasim said protesters were not just angry about recent incidents in the US.
“People were obviously very angry about the situation in the US, because it’s reached a critical point. But it’s also a problem here in the UK – it’s an international problem which needs to be addressed,” he said.
Eyewitnesses say that up to 500 people took part in the protest, although police claim fewer were present.
A Metropolitan police spokeswoman said: “There was a planned protest at 6pm advertised as a ‘die-in’ in support of Eric Garner, which we are policing. We believe around 100 people are taking part. There may have been attempts to block to some roads around the centre.”
This event is one of several happening around the world in protest at the decision not to bring charges against two white officers for the deaths of two black men, after another grand jury chose not to charge the former police officer Darren Wilson in the killing of the teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
Frequent die-ins have taken place in New York train stations, with officials from Grand Central, one of the world’s busiest stations, saying they would not attempt to stop the protests.
