SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) -- A group of protesters upset over recent police shootings disrupted  San Francisco Municipal Railway service Monday morning.

      Shortly before 7 a.m., protesters gathered at Church and Duboce  streets, blocking N-Judah and J-Church light-rail vehicles from entering and  exiting the tunnel system, SFMTA spokesman Paul Rose said.

      Shuttle buses substituted for the N and J lines until 7:30 a.m.  when the protesters were cleared from the Church and Duboce intersection,  Rose said.

      The protesters marched to the SFMTA headquarters at 1 S. Van Ness  Ave. where they continued their protest.

      They held signs, including some reading, "They Shoot Us Down, We  Shut It Down" and "Stop the Brutality."

      The protest came one year after the death of Kenneth Harding, Jr.,  19, who was shot after a MUNI fare inspection by San Francisco police.

      Police initially said Harding was shot after an exchange of  gunfire with officers after he tried to avoid paying Muni fare. However,  investigators later said that bullet that killed Harding appeared to have  been fired from Harding's gun, not a police weapon.

      When no gun was found on Harding's body and videos began to  circulate showing the teen bleeding to death on the ground, many community  members were outraged.

      Police contended that amateur video shows someone removing  Harding's gun from the scene, and that that weapon was eventually recovered.

      Marco Scott, Harding's uncle, was among those who participated in  the protest. He said today's attempt to shut down Muni is meant to be a  peaceful protest against police aggression.

      "We want to honor (Harding) and our other fallen children that  have been killed by police brutality -- we're here to make a statement,"  Scott said.

      Scott said he and other protesters today want to alert Muni riders  to what he calls "the profiling of inner-city kids."

      Protester Charles DuBois, 59, said he has been fighting against  police brutality since the 1960s and said the police have the "same tired  excuses from police. 'They thought they had a gun.'"

      "Every working-class person that is out of a job is being taken  advantage of by the system," DuBois said. "They're squeezing us. This action  is designed to be an educational example."

      Thomas J. Medina-Jimenez, 25, joined the protest after waking up  near Church and Duboce and seeing the demonstrators. He said he had spent six  months in jail and that he was beaten while in custody.

      "There was three cops on one person, me," he said. "You just take  it and that's not cool. We're just taking it."

      Monday's protest was organized by groups including the Oscar Grant  Foundation, an organization created after the BART police killing of Oscar  Grant to foster better communication between police and the community.

      Other organizers included Labor Black and Brown and Grant's uncle,  Cephus Johnson.

      Flyers calling for the Muni shutdown also cited the June 5  shooting of 15-year-old Derrick Gaines by South San Francisco police.

      Protesters will reconvene at 5 p.m. to hold a vigil for Harding at  Third Street and Palou Avenue.

(Copyright 2012, Bay City News, All rights reserved.)