Ferguson protests jump to London

LONDON, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Ferguson protests against the police shooting of a black teenager have crossed the pond to England, where demonstrators gathered at the U.S. embassy in London.

Hundreds of protesters chanted: "Hands up, don't shoot," in solidarity with Missouri and other American activists protesting the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson.

Speakers among the activists, responding to calls to demonstrate by the Stand Up to Racism group and the London Black Revolutionaries, said police violence is as significant a problem in the U.K. as in the U.S., citing the recent deaths of black musician Sean Rigg in police custody, and the shooting death by police of 29-year-old Tottenham man Mark Duggan in 2011.

"We have to stand behind them because you know what happens there will eventually happen here," Duggan's aunt told the crowd.

The London demonstration was the first major protest concerning the Ferguson shooting outside of the U.S.

"We extend our full support to those resisting police brutality in Ferguson and their right to defend themselves, and urge that black people on both sides of the Atlantic unify around and mobilize against the institutional violence that plagues our communities in the U.K. and the U.S.," said a post on the Black Revolutionaries Facebook page.

The march ended peacefully close to midnight.