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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — About 35 protesters withstood near-freezing temperatures in Salt Lake City on Monday night to condemn police shootings across the U.S. and a Missouri grand jury's decision not to charge a white officer in the killing of a black 18-year-old.
People at the peaceful protest outside a downtown federal office building carried signs decrying police shootings and shouting chants such as "1-2-3-4, we don't want your police war."
They booed and then marked a moment of silence after learning that Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson would not be charged in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.
Chris Manor, with the group Utah Against Police Brutality, helped organize the event. He said it was worth braving the cold, particularly in light of recent fatal shootings by Utah police.
"There are things that have affected us locally, but at the same time, it's important to show solidarity with people in other cities who are facing the very same thing that we're facing," Manor said.
Monday night's event was the group's third rally this year and did not have any of the confrontations with police seen at other demonstrations around the country Monday.
Two federal officers with a police dog warned protesters shortly before the rally began that they needed to stay on public sidewalks and off the federal property.
Salt Lake City police did not have any apparent presence at the protest. Sgt. Robin Heiden said late Monday afternoon that police did not plan to attend because they expected it would be a peaceful demonstration.
The demonstration lasted for about an hour as the temperature approached 32 degrees. Many attendees were bundled up, some dressed in all-black, and covered their faces with handkerchiefs or scarves.
Several carried black flags as others held up a large banner that read that read, "No justice. No peace. No killer police."
Manor and other demonstrators cited recent fatal police shootings in Utah, including the shootings of Darrien Hunt in September and Danielle Willard in 2012.
Hunt, 22, was carrying a samurai sword in the city of Saratoga Springs when police confronted him. Police said they shot Hunt because they feared for their lives, and a local prosecutor ruled the shooting justified. The NAACP has asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate because Hunt was black and the officers were white.
There have been several protests in Utah since Hunt's shooting, with many drawing parallels to the shooting of Willard two years earlier.
Willard, 21, was unarmed when she was shot by two West Valley City police officers. She was backing her car out of an apartment complex parking lot, and the officers involved said they feared she would hit them.
The Salt Lake County district attorney ruled the shooting was unjustified and charged the officer who fatally shot Willard with manslaughter. A judge dismissed the case in October and the Utah attorney general's office has declined to appeal that decision.
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