City Council Member Nick Licata marched with protesters in New York City last night in response to a grand jury's decision not to indict the white New York City police officer who put Eric Garner, an unarmed black man, in a chokehold that caused his death.

The New York Times, reporting on the protest, said that "thousands of people marched from Foley Square and Sara D. Roosevelt Park on the Lower East Side, converged on Canal Street and then swarmed to the West Side Highway. Waving banners and flags, they quickly marched north on the highway, blocking traffic going in both directions. At 11th Street, a police line halted part of the march. Rows of police officers and protesters faced off, sometimes exchanging words."

Licata is in New York this week with Local Progress, a group he co-founded that works to "replicate progressive legislation" (paid sick leave and police reform, among other things) by connecting city officials from all over the country. He says he got the idea after he sponsored a resolution recognizing the Occupy movement and wanted access to other city council members to talk about what they could do about income inequality.

The group's meeting covered a bunch of lefty topics, but "firmly in the backdrop of everything was the decision of two separate grand juries to not indict the police officers that killed Michael Brown in Ferguson and Eric Garner in Staten Island," Licata writes on his blog. So Local Progress wrote the following letter:

I stand with Eric Garner. I stand with Michael Brown. I stand with Tamir Rice. I stand with Tanesha Anderson. I stand with Akai Gurley. I stand with the countless black men, women, and children named and unnamed who have been subjected to state-sanctioned violence all across this country. I stand with the multitudes who are mobilizing and saying “enough is enough.”

As we continue to witness the devaluation of black life and a justice system that fails to hold law enforcement accountable, I stand with the young black leaders and other activists nationwide demanding that local police forces stop discriminating on the basis of race. I share their conviction that all lives matter.

I stand against the excessive use of force with impunity. I stand for equal justice under the law.

As a public official elected to represent my community, I recognize my unique responsibility for ensuring that our law enforcement system values all lives, treats all residents fairly, protects everyone’s safety, respects everyone’s civil liberties, and promotes our shared human dignity. In the wake of these tragic killings and miscarriages of justice, I reaffirm my commitment to advancing this vision for equal justice under law.

I recognize that local government must take action. I also recognize that the Federal government has a role to play in ensuring that local governments and local police forces are advancing these values. I call on Congress, the Department of Justice, and the President to use their full powers to ensure that cities around the country end discriminatory policing practices and replace them with programs that respect and empower residents and help us build a more just and equitable society.

I reached out to Licata's office to find out more about what he sees as some potential local government action, but his legislative aide Lisa Herbold said he's not yet working on anything for City Hall.