Demonstration into US chokehold death turns violent

Missiles were thrown at police and windows were smashed in Berkeley as demonstrations around the country continued over the death of Eric Garner.

A spokeswoman for the Berkeley police department said one officer suffered minor injuries on Saturday evening after some of the protesters threw rocks and other objects at police.

She said several businesses were looted and damaged, while local media reported that tear gas and smoke bombs were used to disperse the crowd.

Thousands of demonstrators have protested peacefully in New York and elsewhere since the announcement on Wednesday that a grand jury would not indict a white officer in the death of Mr Garner, a black man who repeatedly gasped “I can’t breathe” while he was being arrested for selling loose, untaxed cigarettes. The arrest was captured on video.

Other protests followed a Missouri grand jury’s earlier decision not to indict a white officer in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old.

Mr Garner’s family said they have found the scope of the demonstrations and the lack of violence moving but officers have said the outcry over the grand jury decision has left them feeling betrayed and demonised.