Silent march protesting against NYPD's stop-and frisk tactics taken out in New York

Washington, June 18 (ANI): Thousands of New Yorkers marched silently in upper Manhattan demanding to protest against New York Police Department's (NYPD) stop-and frisk program.

The Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network, a not-for-profit, civil rights organization, organized the march down Manhattan's Fifth Avenue from lower Harlem to the mayor's Upper East Side townhouse.

Protesters said that the NYPD's program unfairly targeted blacks and Latinos from poor neighborhoods and carried signs reading "Frisk the Bankers" and "Stop Racial Profiling."

"Stop-and-frisk is the most massive local racial profiling program in the country," New York Daily News quoted NAACP President Todd Jealous as saying.

"All children, of every color, should feel protected by our police, not threatened, harassed or intimidated," he added.

The Father's Day march was joined by thousands of people, including the parents of Ramarley Graham, who was linked to the February 2 fatal police shooting of their unarmed son to the controversial policy.

"We just want to show people that we're tired of the policies that discriminate against people of color," he said. "The policies have to be changed," Frank Graham said.

Police Officer Richard Haste, who wrongly believed the teen had a gun, shot Ramarley Graham, 18, death in his Bronx home on February 2.

Republican Charles Rangel, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and Controller John Liu were among dozens of politicians who joined the march.

"All cops are not bad. But all of us are not criminals," Sharpton told worshipers at the First Corinthian Church in Harlem before the march. (ANI)