More than a thousand protesters calling attention to police brutality in the U.S. gathered Saturday in the heart of Hollywood, hours after police shot a man near the Walk of Fame.
Some celebrities attended the #BlackOutHollywood protest, where protesters marching from Argyle Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard past the TCL Chinese Theatre held up their hands and chanted "Hands up, can't breathe" and "don't shoot."
The phrase is a mash-up of slogans used in protests against two grand jury decisions not to bring charges against white police officers who killed black men, which have sparked protests in L.A. and across the country.
On Nov. 24, a grand jury decided not to indict a police officer for shooting an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, MO. The Ferguson decision preceded another grand jury decision last week not to indict a New York City policeman who choked a man to death during an arrest in July.
"It's not about race, it's about being fair," said one protester.
"Justice is not being served," another added.
Organizers asked people attending Saturday's march to wear black clothes to symbolize what many see as a racial slant to the shootings, which observers have said frequently target black men.
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Some famed figures attended the event as well. Grammy Award winner Kevin McCall sang at the march.
Actor and singer Tyrese Gibson attended the protest, which was planned before the Friday night LAPD shooting, in which a man holding a pocket knife was killed at Hollwood Boulevard and Highland Avenue just before 7 a.m., according to the Los Angeles Police Department. He said he represents many other men and women who he believes have faced police brutality.
"I am Eric Garner, I am Trayvon Martin," Gibson said. "The system is broken."
