New York, Dec 7 (EFE).- Protests over the deaths of several young black men at the hands of police continued on the weekend across the country while in New York organizers began preparing for a huge demonstration scheduled for next Saturday to demand that the officers involved be brought to trial.
Sunday was the fifth consecutive day of protests since last Wednesday a grand jury decided not to indict the officer who in July put African American Eric Garner in a chokehold to subdue him while arresting him, after which the man died.
There were new demonstrations on Saturday evening in the Big Apple although the rainy weather probably limited the size of the turnout compared to previous days.
Meanwhile, demonstrators staged several violent incidents on the West Coast, especially in Berkeley, California, where vandals broke storefront windows, forcing police in antiriot gear to intervene, and in Seattle, where half a dozen arrests were made.
Organizers in New York took to the social networks to begin setting up new demonstrations in the coming days, including planning for a huge march in the city - dubbed the "Millions March NYC" - on Dec. 13.
The aim of the demonstration next Saturday is to demand that the Justice Department file federal charges against the police officers involved in the deaths of Garner and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri on Aug. 9.
More than 30,000 people on Facebook expressed their intention to participate in the march.
And criticism continued to be heard over police actions in different incidents at the funeral held Saturday in New York for Akai Gurley, a young African American who died last month after being shot - allegedly accidentally - by a police officer.
Garner's widow Esaw Garner also spoke publicly, thanking those who took to the streets for their support and asking them to keep up the demonstrations. EFE