On the small commercial street where Eric Garner died on Staten Island, those gathered on Sunday to mark two years since his death were forthcoming with their grief and their calls for police accountability. 

Toussaint Randale, who wore a hat that said "2016: I still can't breathe," said his mind wasn't only on Garner, but also other black men and women who have died at the hands of police.

"It happens so much, it doesn't allow me to feel. I become numb to the situation."

He added, "As a black man I feel like I'm an endangered species."

Randale and others were gathered after a midday march, which included the mother of one of Garner's children. There was a heavy police presence nearby, with NYPD vehicles visible in any direction. 

But in the afternoon, even in 90 degree heat, the mood was calm. Officers from the NYPD's community affairs unit leaned against a fence; people who took part in the march milled around and ate ice cream.

This was happening just hours after police were killed by a gunman in Baton Rouge, and days after the funeral for Alton Sterling, a black man shot and killed by Baton Rouge police.

"For every action, there's an opposite and equal reaction," said Kelvin Dove. 

He said he thinks peaceful protests have not helped advance the cause of police accountability. And without prosecuting even police caught on video engaged in wrongdoing, he said he understood where the violence against police was coming from.

"I don't condone nobody killing, but I'm not crying no tears over them," Dove said.

In the early evening, another march commemorating Garner's death kicked off at the Staten Island ferry terminal, this one led by Garner's eldest daughter, Erica.

Earlier in the day, after the news of officers killed in Baton Rouge, Erica tweeted that the protest would be peaceful.

"This is about justice and Eric Garner," she said.