The afternoon rally and march was led by the Rev. Al Sharpton and relatives of Eric Garner, who died July 17 after a New York Police Department officer took him to the ground with a banned tactic in a confrontation captured on video.
The marchers started yesterday near a makeshift memorial of flowers, signs and candles set up where Garner was wrestled down and handcuffed. They carried a banner: "We Will Not Go Back, March for Justice."
Diana Smith-Baker, a white Quaker, said it was important for people of all races and religions to bring attention to "the inequities toward black people and Hispanic people by the police department."
James O'Neill, police chief of patrol, credited march organizers for the peaceful turnout.
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Earlier, Sharpton warned about 100 marchers at a Staten Island church to remain nonviolent or go home. He also repeated his call for a federal takeover of the criminal probe into the death of the 43-year-old Garner, an asthmatic father of six who was stopped for selling loose cigarettes.
Signs were plentiful. Most popular were "Hands up, don't shoot," which emerged during protests in Missouri over the police killing of unarmed black teen Michael Brown, and "I can't breathe," Garner's last words.
Garner's widow, Esaw, also urged a peaceful march, saying she is now too afraid to let her sons go outdoors. She asked marchers to "get justice" for her husband.
Protesters walked alongside dozens of police officers in parade gear, including polo shirts and pants. There were also officers in formal blue uniforms, but none had riot gear.