NYC Protesters Storm Apple Store

Hundreds of protesters are taking to the streets and stores in Manhattan for a third night of demonstrations after a Staten Island grand jury decided not to indict an NYPD officer in the chokehold death of Eric Garner.

Starting at Columbus Circle on a rainy Friday evening, the protesters marched to the flagship Apple store on Fifth Avenue and stormed the famous glass cube, marching down the stairs and flooding the shop as they chanted “Black lives matter” and “I can’t breathe.” 

Customers inside the store and employees appeared surprised as the protesters started filing in, then continued to watch as the protesters marched, chanted and later, staged a “die-in” and lay on the ground. 

Police officers walked along with the protesters, monitoring the demonstration and keeping order. 

Thousands of people lay down in streets, blocked bridges and cut off tunnels in a second day of protests in response to a grand jury’s decision not to indict an NYPD officer in the chokehold death of Eric Garner. Brynn Gingras reports. (Published Thursday, Dec 4, 2014)

After leaving the Apple store, the protesters proceeded to Macy’s in Herald Square, also filing through the store. 

It’s not clear why the protesters went to those particular stores to demonstrate. Last week on Black Friday, people went inside Macy’s Herald Square to protest the Ferguson grand jury decision not to indict in the shooting death of Michael Brown. They said they were aiming to diminish Black Friday profits in order to make governments take notice. 

While large, the crowd was far from the thousands who flooded streets, blocked traffic and lay down in roads during Thursday night’s protests. Police said 223 people were arrested in those demonstrations, a bulk of them on charges of disorderly conduct and a few for minor assaults on police officers.

That’s in addition to the 83 people arrested Wednesday, the day the grand jury issued its vote not to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo. 

NBC 4 New York learned Friday that Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan only asked grand jurors to consider manslaughter and criminally  negligent homicide charges, and not a lesser charge of reckless endangerment. It’s not clear why he left the lesser charge off the table, and he has said strict confidentiality laws surrounding grand jury proceedings prevent him from discussing the details of the case. 

The protests have been largely peaceful and non-violent, with very little vandalism, according to NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton, who also praised police officers for practicing restraint during the marches. 

“All and all, apart from the significant traffic disruptions, we’ve been doing OK,” he said.  

FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said Friday that fire truck and ambulance response times to emergencies have not been affected by the protests so far.

He added: “Everyone has a right for their voice to be heard, but for their own safety, and for the safety of all New Yorkers, we always ask that New Yorkers keep a safe distance from emergency equipment at all times.”  

SEE MORE COVERAGE OF THE ERIC GARNER GRAND JURY PROTESTS: 

• Day 1: Crowds try to disrupt Rockefeller Center tree lighting, stage “die-ins” at Grand Central Terminal
• Day 2: Thousands march from Foley Square and throughout Manhattan, laying down in streets, blocking bridges and cutting off tunnels; police announce 223 people are arrested in the protests

– Jonathan Vigliotti contributed to this report.