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10 Dec 2014

‘We Can’t Breathe’: 76 arrested at London Eric Garner demo

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Police arrest 76 protesters after a die-in outside Westfield Shopping Centre in London, over the grand jury decision not to indict a police officer involved in the death of Eric Garner.

**Warning: explicit language in the video above. Viewer discretion advised.**

Demonstrators attempted to stage a die-in inside the shopping centre, but were not allowed into the premises.

However, groups gathered ahead of the protest, waiting inside for a signal. Scotland Yard said the arrests took place when protesters tried to force their way into the shopping centre.

Read: 'I can't breathe': chokeholds according to the NYPD

The die-in was organised by London Black Revs, who launched the action in solidarity with a wave of protests in the US over the death of Eric Garner by a white New York City police officer.

Mr Garner, a 43-year-old father of six, died on 17 July after police officers attempted to arrest him for allegedly selling loose, untaxed cigarettes on Staten Island.

Human rights activists have called for a protest march in Washington D.C. on 13 December and planned for a human rights summit later.

In a statement ahead of the event, organisers said on their Facebook page: “We would like to state that this is a non violent demonstration and we will be joined by international media broadcasting our Die-In back to the screens of black Americans in the USA. We need to make our voices loud and heard.”

Demonstrator Abdi Suleiman told Channel 4 News “It’s only through action activity that we can stop history repeating itself.”