US grand jury to rule on fatal NYC shooting case

A US grand jury will be asked to decide whether to prosecute a New York police officer over the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man in Brooklyn, the BBC reported.

Akai Gurley was shot in the chest after he entered the stairwell of his apartment building last month.

The decision comes days after a grand jury opted against charging a New York policeman in the chokehold death of another unarmed black man, Eric Garner.

The decision has sparked protests across the country.

The US was already facing race-related unrest over the decision not to indict a white police officer who had shot dead a young black man, Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Missouri.

In New York City on Friday, protesters briefly laid down in Macy's flagship store, at Grand Central Terminal and at an Apple store.

Hundreds streamed along Fifth Avenue and other parts of Manhattan, with banners and chants of "Black lives matter" and "I can't breathe" - a reference to the words of Eric Garner as he was being restrained by a white police officer.