WATCH: Student protesters explain why they are marching

Hundreds of students from four Denver schools walked out of classes on Thursday, marking the second straight day of marches in support of protesters in Ferguson, Mo.

The protests snarled traffic for miles and drew dozens of police officers to escort the pupils.

Students whistled, waved signs and chanted “Hands up, don’t shoot!” as they walked through the city’s streets blocking traffic. About 400 students from Abraham Lincoln High School walked roughly seven miles from their campus to the Capitol.

“We want change,” said Johnathon Ortiz, a senior at Lincoln. “We don’t want innocent people to get shot.”

By noon, students from George Washington High School, Bruce Randolph Middle School and Noel Community Arts School had also walked out of class decrying police abuses and calling for change.

Thursday’s protests come after four Denver police officers on bicycles were hit by a car and injured on Wednesday East Colfax Avenue as they escorted hundreds of East High School back to classes after their downtown protest. One officer remained in critical condition on Thursday afternoon.

“My heart goes out to the officers who were wounded, but the protesters didn’t push them in front of the cars,” said Jose Romero, a Lincoln senior who organized his school’s march on Facebook.

Romero encouraged other students to thank officers who escorted and protected them from traffic.

Buses were used at two of the protests to shuttle students back to campus after their march. Paramedics escorted the procession of students on Thursday.

The students were protesting a grand jury decision clearing a Ferguson police officer in the death of 18 year-old Michael Brown. Some also mentioned the grand jury decision in New York not to indict officers involved in the death of Eric Garner.

“We’re just trying to make a difference,” Easty Zay, a junior at East High School, said Wednesday.

Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JesseAPaul