About 120 people gathered at South Park on Saturday afternoon to protest recent acts of law enforcement violence, including the shooting death of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Mo., police officer.

From the park, the protesters marched up and down Massachusetts Street for “justice of those who die and are abused at the hands of law enforcement, especially those who have been victimized based on the color of their skin,” according to a Facebook event page created by Lawrence resident Jeremiah Maska, the march’s organizer.

Angered by the news from Ferguson and similar deaths at the hands of police in New York and Cleveland, and emboldened by protests taking place nationwide, Maska conceived the march as a way to bring attention to the issue locally.

“I just want people to see that it is a problem,” Maska said. “Everyone needs to take action against it. We need to make demands. … People in Lawrence are against it just as much as everyone in the world is.”

The march ended in front of the downtown Lawrence police station, 111 E. 11th St., where protesters observed four and a half minutes of silence representing the four and a half hours Brown’s body was left on the street after he was killed Aug. 9 by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. Wilson, who has since resigned from the department, was not indicted in Brown’s death.

Passersby taking note of the Lawrence march included Will Shields, of Cleveland, who said he supported the protesters and agreed police brutality is a problem. He also took heart from the peaceful nature of the protest.

“(It) encourages people to stand up for what they believe in,” Shields said. “We have to fight for it.”