TROY -- In Saturday morning's chill, about 40 people gathered at Ninth and Rensselaer streets and began chanting:

"How many more? It really needs to stop! Not one more, prosecute the cops!"

The group joined for a march and rally to demand the prosecution of Troy police officer Jarrod Iler, who shot 22-year-old Dahmeek McDonald in Troy on Aug. 15 and Sgt. Randall French, who shot and killed Edson Thevenin of Watervliet on April 17, 2016.

They also demanded the resignation of Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel E. Abelove.

"We're here to keep the awareness up on the police brutality and the mistreatment of the people in the ghetto," said James Cooper, McDonald's uncle, who goes by the name Messiah.

"We want these police held accountable for their actions. We want (them) brought upon charges. And we'd like to be in on who's going to police us because, primarily, it's set up to police my community, no one else's."

McDonald, who was wanted for an alleged parole violation, was unarmed when he was shot twice in the shoulder and face by Iler, a five-year veteran of the force, during a traffic stop on Eighth Street at Rensselaer Street around 6:40 p.m. Aug. 15, police said. McDonald was treated at the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and sent to the county jail.

Thevenin was fatally shot after authorities said he fled a traffic spot on the Collar City Bridge. A grand jury declined to indict French, however a special grand jury is examining the investigation as part of its ongoing examination of Abelove's handling of the shooting death.

"I'm here to support accountability for the officers who have committed acts of violence and against unarmed people," said Mari Matsuo, who attended the rally. "We're here to show them there are people in this community that are going to continue to come out and demand that change."