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Damning US report fuels race furor over police killings

A damning US federal investigation into police brutality in Cleveland added further fuel Thursday to the national controversy raging over a spate of police killings of black suspects.

The finding announced by US Attorney General Eric Holder that police in the Ohio city routinely employ "excessive force" came after a night of angry demonstrations in New York.

The New York protests were triggered by a local grand jury's decision not to indict a white officer who choked to death an unarmed black father-of-six during his arrest for selling illegal cigarettes.

The case is the latest in a series of racially-charged incidents, including the shooting of a 12-year-old in Cleveland and a decision not to prosecute a Missouri officer who killed an unarmed black teen.

The federal investigation into policing in Cleveland began 18 months ago and not specifically about the killing on November 22 of black 12-year-old Tamir Rice in a city playground by police.

Officers responded to a report that a youth was brandishing a gun, but Rice was later found to be carrying a toy, and a video of the incident show police opened fire within seconds of their arrival.

"We have determined that there is reasonable cause to believe that the Cleveland Division of Police engages in a pattern or practice of using excessive force," Holder said.

He blamed this on "systemic deficiencies, including insufficient accountability, inadequate training and equipment, ineffective policies and inadequate engagement with the community."

New York, meanwhile, was braced for another night of protest.

Police arrested 83 people overnight after demonstrators took to the streets in fury at the grand jury's decision not to indict the officer over the July 17 death of Eric Garner.

A similar decision in Ferguson, Missouri last week sparked riots.

The St Louis suburb had been a hub of protest and racial tensions since unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot dead August 9 by a white police officer.

– 'Time has come to do even more' –

"In recent days, millions of people throughout the nation have come together -? bound by grief and anguish ? in response to the tragic deaths of Michael Brown… and Eric Garner," Holder said.

"The Department of Justice is currently conducting an independent, thorough, fair and expeditious federal civil rights investigation into each of these incidents.

"And as President Obama and I have indicated, the time has come to do even more."

Activists have called for a demonstration Thursday outside the headquarters of the New York Police Department, and the city's Democrat mayor Bill de Blasio urged protesters to stay peaceful.

"We will not tolerate violence or disorder but we think by showing respect for the democratic process, it is one of the right ways of setting the tone that keeps protest peaceful," he said.

Garner's family, who have vowed to continue the fight for justice, has also called for peace.

They and the Brown family are expected to join a December 13 march for justice in Washington called by US civil rights activist Al Sharpton.

Police in New York have deployed in force and there was anger on Wednesday as protesters took to the streets but no major violence.

A series of protests converged into a large march down Broadway and eventually into Times Square.

De Blasio praised the police response.

"It was smart, it was strategic, it was agile, a lot of restraint was shown," he said.

'An American problem' 

Garner's arrest was caught on an amateur video which showed the heavy-set asthma sufferer gasping "I can't breathe, I can't breathe" as officers pinned him to the ground.

Officer Daniel Pantaleo — who applied the chokehold on Garner during the arrest in the New York borough of Staten Island — could still face federal charges.

Barack Obama, America's first black president, briefly addressed the inherent mistrust many black Americans have of police.

"We're seeing too many instances where people do not have confidence that folks are being treated fairly," Obama said.

"It is incumbent upon all of us as Americans… that we recognize this is an American problem and not just a black problem or a brown problem."

A New York City medical examiner had ruled Garner's death a homicide caused in part by the chokehold used during the arrest.

"My message to the people is take that pain and frustration and work for change," de Blasio said Thursday.

"The relationship between the police and community has to change. The way we go about policing has to change," he added.

De Blasio, who is white and married to a black woman, has mixed-race children and spoke of his concerns about his own son.

"I feel these issues very, very personally. It's something that's a powerful current running through our family," he said.

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