Most NYPD precincts have reportedly called off Christmas parties as they are on high alert to intervene if protests against police brutality escalate. The departments will hold their winter celebrations in January, expecting demonstrations to fade after the holidays.

MOSCOW, December 19 (Sputnik) — About two-thirds of the precincts of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) have cancelled holiday parties due to nightly protests against police brutality, which guarantees holiday overtime pay, the DNAinfo reported, citing an undisclosed police source.

Two-thirds of New York precincts have called off their festivities as the protests against police brutality continue.

Thousands of protesters have taken part in a National March Against Police Violence organized by the National Action Network against excessively brutal behavior by US law enforcement. The protests gained strength after the grand jury decision not to indict a police officer Daniel Pantaleo in the killing of unarmed Eric Garner, 43.

The majority of NYPD precincts decided to call off Christmas parties because they are currently on high alert to intervene if protests escalate, the DNAinfo reported.

An unnamed police employee told the edition Thursday that most police departments would hold their winter celebrations in January, expecting protests to fade after the holidays.

Police officers will be paid for working additional hours monitoring the protests. "There's no bigger way to screw up the police than give them millions of dollars in overtime around Christmas," the police source pointed out.

Indeed, as of Tuesday, the NYPD had already paid approximately $23 million for overtime patrolling during protest marches, the officials said, according to the DNAinfo.