Hundreds take to the streets of New York City to protest about police brutality ignoring calls from the mayor to suspend demonstrations after two police officers were murdered

• Protesters returned to the streets of New York City on Tuesday evening to condemn police brutality following the police-involved killings of Eric Garner and Michael Brown
• They ignored calls made by Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday for a hiatus on demonstrations until after the funerals of two NYPD cops murdered on Saturday
• Organizers said there was no reason to 'give in to hysteria' and call off the march and the protesters were mostly peaceful
• Some protesters carried signs reading 'Jail Killer Cops' and 'Stop The War On Black America', while others chanted 'Hey-hey, ho-ho. These racist cops have got to go' and 'How do you spell racist? N-Y-P-D'

By David Mccormack and Kieran Corcoran Fior MailOnline

Published: 22:17 EST, 23 December 2014 | Updated: 23:17 EST, 23 December 2014

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of New York City on Tuesday evening to condemn police brutality, ignoring calls from New York's governor, the city's mayor and others calling for restraint.

Protesters, carrying signs reading ‘Jail Killer Cops’ and 'Stop The War On Black America' marched en masse to demand justice for those who have died recently at the hands of police.

The rallies began in Union Square and outside City Hall and protesters then marched through midtown Manhattan. Some protesters chanted 'Hey-hey, ho-ho. These racist cops have got to go' and 'How do you spell racist? N-Y-P-D.' as they marched along Fifth Avenue.

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Hundreds of protesters defied Mayor de Blasio's request, carrying signs reading ‘Jail Killer Cops’ and 'Angry Pacifist' they marched demand justice for those who have died recently at the hands of police

An NYPD Officer on a motorbike keeps track of anti-NYPD protesters as they march through the Upper East Side of Manhattan on Monday

NYPD officers used motorbikes to create a cordon as protesters, demonstrating against decisions by grand juries in New York and Missouri not to indict white police officers in the killings of unarmed black men, held placards while marching down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Tuesday night

The demonstrations went on despite calls by Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday for a hiatus on demonstrations until after the funerals of the two NYPD cops - Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu - murdered by Ismaaiyl Brinsley on Saturday.

Organizers ignored de Blasio's call for the march to be cancelled and said there was no reason to 'give in to hysteria' and call off the event.

At first, marchers stayed on the sidewalks as a large police presence, with officers - some wearing riot helmets and face shields - keeping protesters from impeding holiday traffic.

‘We object to some people painting us with an “anti-cop” brush,’ Robert Gangi, director of the Police Reform Organizing Project, told the Daily News.

‘The charge does not apply. We are anti-NYPD practices, such as the quota driven “broken windows” approach to policing which targets low-income people of color...’

The protesters were mostly peaceful as they made their way through the city's bustling shopping district although the demonstration eventually spilled into the streets.

The protests started last month as a reaction to the police-involved killings of Eric Garner on Staten Island, New York, and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

Mayor Bill de Blasio had called Monday for a pause in protests over police conduct. He faces a widening rift with those in a grieving police force who accuse him of creating a climate of mistrust that contributed to the killings of the officers.

Police Commissioner William Bratton, speaking Tuesday in Rhode Island, said it was 'unfortunate' that some protests continued despite the mayor's plea.

Protesters returned to the streets of New York City on Tuesday evening to protest the police-involved killings of Eric Garner on Staten Island, New York, and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri

Despite calls from New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to curb protests until after the funerals of slain NYPD officers, demonstrators took to the streets to exercise their first amendment rights and marched down Fifth Avenue

Some protesters chanted 'Hey-hey, ho-ho. These racist cops have got to go' and 'How do you spell racist? N-Y-P-D'

Grief: NYPD Lieutenant Tanisha Gurley is seen above with a single tear running down her face as she kneels in front of a makeshift memorial for slain officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu

Unity: Cops embraced one another while members of the public gathered to express their feelings at the Saturday double murder

Guest: Mayor Bill de Blasio - who has faced criticism from some officers - came to the memorial with his wife Chirlane McCray. The pair laid flowers and later led a moment of silence

Earlier on Tuesday, uniformed cops had laid bouquets, lit candles and left toys around the street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of the city where a crazed gunman shot dead officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu.

They were joined by mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife, who also laid flowers at the site in a show of unity with the police force, elements of which say the mayor had turned against them before the deaths.

De Blasio later led city officials in a moment of silence at 2.47pm Monday - exactly three days after Ismaaiyl Brinsley opened fire on officers Ramos and Liu as they sat in their patrol car.

Officers amassed at the memorial fell silent to honor their fallen comrades, as city leaders urged people around New York and the country to do the same.

Mayor de Blasio told a press conference at City Hall: 'I want o ask everyone who is assembled here, and everyone who is watching to now bow our heads in memory of Officer Ramos and Officer Liu'.

He then paused for around a minute and embraced his wife Chirlane McCray - then told others to do the same as a symbol of their communal grief.

Today at the memorial, near the Myrtle/Willoughby subway stations on the G line, NYPD Lieutenant Tanisha Gurley was one of those mourning the two men.

As she knelt in front of the memorial a single tear could be seen running down her cheek. Other officers were pictured embracing, while sobbing members of the public also paid their respects.

Silence: Mayor Bill de Blasio bowed his head in City hall - and urged others to do the same - at 2.47pm, the time the officers were shot

Embrace: De Blasio and his wife Chirlane McCray embraced publicly after the silence and urged others to do likewise

Paying respects: At the memorial in Brooklyn, officers bowed their heads and paused as well

Grieving: The silence coincided with a message from NYPD commissioner Bill Bratton praising the two fallen officers

Details of a full funeral for officer Ramos - a regular church-goer who aspired to be a full-time minister - were announced, with a service in Queens set for December 27. Last night NYPD officials said arrangements for Liu's funeral would follow after relatives had been flown in from China.

Earlier that day NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton posted a message honoring the fallen officers, and said the department will keep its flags at half-mast until after Christmas.

He described Liu and Ramos as: 'loving fathers, husbands, and sons—points of great pride for their communities.

'They were also part of our NYPD family, bonded by the experiences, triumphs, and challenges we face so that others won’t have to. They dedicated their lives to the defense of others, and understood what that commitment could ultimately mean.

'They were people of faith, of conviction, and of principle. They answered the call to service, and did so each and every day they wore the uniform. They were devoted to the protection of this city and the safety of its people.

'They didn’t do this work to be thanked, congratulated, or admired. They did it because it must be done, because we all have the basic right to live free from fear. And with all of us, they stood tall to guard those who cannot guard themselves, to shield the frightened, the weak, and the vulnerable.

'We are their memory. We are their legacy. And we still stand.

Standing together: Three NYPD officers bow their heads, surrounded by members of the public holding roses

Overcome: A member of the public brings a hand to her face when confronted with the sea of flowers and candles gathered in Brooklyn

Victims: The flowers and silence ceremony honored killed officers Wenjian Liu, left, and Rafael Ramos, right

Lights in the dark: A man in a New York Yankees cap kneels down and lights another candle at the sad spot