by: Lindsay Bribiescas

On Saturday at 2 pm, protesters gathered at Courthouse Square to protest against the rising number of deaths of minority civilians at police hands.

Demonstrators, many with signs created by Sonoma County’s Peace and Justice Center, spread out along the square. The group then marched along the street to the mall, where they entered Forever 21 and staged a “die-in,” where protesters laid on the ground — “dead” — in memory of Michael Brown, the black 18-year-old shot in Ferguson, Missouri by a white police officer who was not indicted by a grand jury. The lack of indictment, along the lack of indictment for the white police officer that choked Eric Garner — a black 43-year-old — to death in New York, sparked nationwide protests against police brutality and racism.

Protesters staged several die-ins in the mall, then moved outside to the intersection of Fourth and Mendocino, which they taped off with crime scene tape. Several cars attempted to drive through the intersection despite the die-in, but protesters quickly blocked off the drivers’ paths. Another protester was hit by a car, but it is unclear whether it was accidental or on purpose, and there was no physical damage done.

After remaining in the intersection for 20 minutes, the protesters moved to City Hall, then shuffled into a crowded Barnes and Nobles before dispersing.

For pictures from the protest visit our PhotoSnack site or our website: http://www.photosnack.com/F9C58DE9E8C/local-protest.html or www.santarosan.com