Thousands of protesters marched through streets in New York City's business district of Manhattan on Saturday in protest of the police shooting last month that left one man dead and two others wounded.

The march took protesters through the heart of New York City's famous shopping district during one of the busiest shopping days of the holiday season.

Trent Benefield, one of the survivors of the shooting that killed Sean Bell, led the march, dubbed "Shopping for Justice," in his wheelchair. He was encircled by bodyguards, and followed by a group of clergy and elected officials.

Protesters counted in unison the number from one to 50 to symbolize the number of shots fired by police in Bell's death. The march was seen as an expression of anger by the local black community and civil right groups at the slaying of Bell, killed just hours before his scheduled wedding. Five police officers fired 50 shots at his car, killing him and wounding Benefield and Joseph Guzman.

The march was organized by the civil right activists Rev. Al Sharpton and other community leaders, and was intended to contrast the slaying of Bell with the holiday spending spree along Manhattan's busiest shopping district.

Police have said that undercover officers were conducting a vice operation at a club before the shooting, and they claimed that the victims were going to retrieve a gun, although no weapons were found later. Police have also said Bell's car struck an officer and crashed into an unmarked police van.

But civil right activists said the shooting demonstrates the disregard of New York police for the city's black residents. Activists say they will not remain silent if the city's police department refuses to make some changes in the way it operates.

Source: Xinhua