Photos: Anti-Police Brutality Protesters Stop Traffic On Michigan Avenue

By Stephen Gossett in News on Jul 11, 2016 3:57PM

Some 150 protesters demonstrated against police brutality in the Loop on Sunday, briefly stopping traffic on main thoroughfares Michigan Avenue and Jackson Boulevard in the afternoon.

The protests came in the wake of two fatal police shootings this past week. Philando Castile, a 32-year-old African American man in Minnesota, was killed by police on Wednesday while complying with orders to produce an ID. On Tuesday, 37-year-old Alton Sterling was killed in a parking lot outside a food mart by Baton Rouge police responding to a call about an armed man.

There have been rallies in the wake of the shootings all over the country in the last week, including in Chicago. Following all-day Saturday demonstrations, Sunday's demonstrations began with a rally at Daley Plaza. Protesters then began marching through downtown at around 2:45 p.m., briefly stopping traffic on Michigan Ave. and Jackson Blvd.

Some demonstrators made it to Taste of Chicago, where they police cut them off.

Reports indicate at least two protesters in the march on the Loop were arrested, although police would not verify an arrest total on Monday morning. Activists noted on social media that those arrested had been released.

Demonstrations took place downtown for much of the day on Saturday, too, most notably at the Taste of Chicago, but also along the Magnificent Mile and at Trump Tower. Fourteen people were arrested during the protests on Saturday. Those arrested for misdemeanors that day had been released as of Sunday morning, according to police.

More police brutality protests are planned for Monday, including a sit-in led by youth of color at Millennium Park at 2 p.m. and a demonstration at the Federal Building at 4:30 p.m. Showing Up For Racial Justice also protested on Monday morning outside City Hall against a proposed ordinance that would expand hate-crime protection to law enforcement officers.