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Hollywood Demonstrators Stage Die-In To Protest Police Brutality Nationwide

HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA.com) — Hundreds of demonstrators descended upon Hollywood Saturday to protest police killings nationwide.

The demonstrators gathered at Argyle Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard for the peaceful march at noon.

"There are a lot of guilty people but there are a lot of innocent people who are dead who didn't deserve to be treated like animals," an unidentified protester told CBS2's Greg Mills.

As they marched, protesters chanted "I can't breathe" – the final words uttered by Eric Garner, who died in a chokehold in New York.

When the officer involved escaped grand jury indictment, Darnell Appling organized "BlackOutHollywood."

"It was unjust. It wasn't right. I felt like he should have got something," Appling told Mills.

Appling spread the word on Twitter and urged protesters to wear black to protest police brutality against African-Americans.

Teresa A Pitts, another protester, said: "I even asked my dad, 'Is this like the '60s?' And he said, 'No, because in the '60s, you would expect that behavior and now you don't.'"

As protesters made their way toward Highland Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard, they staged a die-in, lying down at the corner where a man was fatally shot by police late Friday. Authorities said the man was armed with a weapon, prompting officers to open fire.

Police told Mills they weren't aware protesters would stage the die-in, which temporarily shut Hollywood Boulevard in both directions.

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