Protesters twice disrupted the Democratic presidential debate on Wednesday night, shouting from the packed crowd in the Fox Theater in Detroit with enough power to bring the candidates and the broadcast to a halt.

During the opening statements, a group of protesters interrupted Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey by chanting “Fire Pantaleo!” — a reference to Officer Daniel Pantaleo, who put Eric Garner in a fatal chokehold on Staten Island in 2014.

The death of Mr. Garner, which was caught on video and showed New York City police officers continuing to hold him down while he yelled “I can’t breathe,” prompted nationwide protests. This month, the Justice Department, led by Attorney General William P. Barr, ordered that the case against Officer Pantaleo be dropped.

Mr. Booker paused as the protesters continued to chant. They were eventually removed from the theater. Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York, who had spoken just minutes earlier, and who has refused to fire Mr. Pantaleo, was not interrupted during his turn.