BERKELEY, Calif., Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Protesters threw rocks and bottles and police fired smoke canisters during a demonstration in Berkeley, Calif. against a grand jury's failure to indict an NYPD officer in the chokehold death of Eric Gardner.
Two police officers suffered minor injuries, including one who had a dislocated shoulder, according to sfgate.com
Five adults were arrested, according to a Berkeley police spokeswoman. Police said protesters vandalized police vehicles and threw bricks, pipes, rocks and bottles.
Two Bay Area Rapid Transit commuter train stations were shut down by protesters.
Protesters have taken to the streets nationwide, outraged over the decision not to bring charges against Daniel Pantaleo. Garner was put in a chokehold as several officers attempted to arrest him after complaints he was selling untaxed, loose cigarettes, taking business from Staten Island store owners.
The take down was captured on cell phone video, and a medical examiner ruled the hold by Pantaleo contributed to Garner's death. The last words heard from Gardner were "I can't breathe," a phrase that has been chanted by demonstrators in the days since the grand jury ruling.
Police have said Pantaleo did not employ a chokehold, which is against NYPD regulations.
The Garner grand jury decision came shortly after a Missouri Grand Jury declined to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown. That decision also touched of nationwide protests and several nights of fires and looting in Ferguson.
A United Nations committee has expressed concern on the two decisions.
