Die-Ins, Blocked Traffic Mark Eric Garner Protests In Chicago

By Chuck Sudo in News on Dec 5, 2014 3:15PM

Outrage over a grand jury’s decision not to indict New York City Police officer Daniel Pantaleo in the chokehold death of Eric Garner spilled onto streets across the nation Thursday. In Chicago protesters staged “die-ins” at major intersections downtown, blocked on-ramps to the Dan Ryan expressway, and shut down Lake Shore Drive at North Avenue, while police ran interference and blocked protesters from heading to their intended target, Soldier Field, where the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys were playing a football game before a national audience.

The protests started earlier Thursday afternoon on the South Side, where University of Chicago students and residents staged a die-in at 55th Street and Woodlawn Avenue.

Four people were arrested and charged with misdemeanors. Another protest is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at Jackson and State Streets. This is the second time in two weeks area demonstrators took to the streets to protest a police-related death. Last week, protesters shut down Lake Shore Drive after a Missouri grand jury declined to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown.