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Recent grand jury decisions exonerating police in lethal encounters with unarmed black men have sparked protests across the country, including in New York last week

(File photo )

NEW BRUNSWICK — A city spokeswoman said Friday motorists should "absolutely expect" delays along Rt. 18 and Rt 27, both of which were affected by marchers protesting recent grand jury decisions in the deaths of New York man Eric Garner and Michael Brown of Ferguson, Mo.

Repost from @believebre: Today I cannot be more proud to be a student at Rutgers University. To see my fellow peers standing up against police brutality and institutionalized racism shows that we refuse to let our voices be unheard. #blacklivesmatter #indictthesystem #mikebrown #ericgardner A photo posted by LaShawn Armani (@loveshawni_xo) on Dec 12, 2014 at 2:42pm PST

The Rt. 27 bridge was briefly closed Friday evening, the spokesperson, Jennifer Bradshaw, said around 5:30 p.m.

The protest is one of several in the region and across the country called after a grand jury in New York opted not to indict a police officer who used a chokehold on Garner this summer. Brown was killed by Officer Darren Wilson, who was also spared indictment by a grand jury last week.

Trying to shut us down. No. #BLACKLIVESMATTER #Rutgers #MikeBrown #EricGarner A video posted by B[?] (@believebre) on Dec 12, 2014 at 1:56pm PST

The planned demonstration forced the city to postpone its annual tree lighting ceremony.

Staff writer Brian Amaral contributed to this report



Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook.