New York, Dec 14 (EFE).- A small group of demonstrators clashed with police after the big weekend march held in New York City to protest police violence against African Americans, authorities said Sunday.
The clashes came near the Brooklyn Bridge at nightfall on Saturday when several people allegedly attacked a couple of police officers.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement that the incident was perpetrated by a small group of protesters and constituted "an ugly and unacceptable departure from the demonstrations thus far."
"Those who reject peaceful protest and provoke violence can expect immediate arrest and prosecution," the mayor said.
De Blasio said that a small group of agitators would not be allowed to provoke disorder or violence at the protests, which so far have been peaceful.
De Blasio said that New Yorkers should be "proud" of the way they have made their voices heard in recent days on the subject of police killings of blacks, but he went on to praise the New York Police Department for its "professionalism, dedication and moderation" during the recent demonstrations.
Several thousand people on Saturday filled the streets of the Big Apple to protest police violence against blacks and to call for measures to be taken to punish those responsible for excessive use of force and to ensure that such incidents do not recur.
The protesters were mostly young and an ethnically diverse group who marched north on Manhattan's 5th Avenue from Washington Square Park.
