Protest over police shootings held in Times Square, Union Square

TIMES SQUARE (WABC) -- A large group of people protesting police shootings marched into Times Square, tying up traffic in Midtown, Thursday night.

The group started in Union Square as part of the National Moment of Silence to protest recent incidents of alleged police brutality, including the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO. Vigils were held across the country.

Well over 1,000 people then marched north to Times Square. Police allowed them to protest and the march was mostly peaceful. Five people were arrested for disorderly conduct.

Two men, 26 and 30 years old, were taken into custody at the corner of West 42nd Street and Ninth Avenue. The 26-year-old, Edward Diaz, of Manhattan, was charged with inciting to riot, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and other charges. The other, from the Bronx, was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Three others were arrested inside 582 9th Avenue.

Two Brooklyn men, 22 and 23, as well as 23-year-old Massachusetts man, were arrested and charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.

Dozens of police officers tried control the crowd. The group stopped in front of the NYPD precinct house in Times Square, and then kept marching.

Police had the group confined behind an orange net on the sidewalk.

The vigil in Union Square was one of a number of local protests. Others were held in Morningside Park in Manhattan, Fulton Park in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Baisley Pond Park in Jamaica, and Newark City Hall.

No officers were injured.