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Poll: Majority Of New Yorkers Don't Agree With Protester Tactics Following Garner Decision

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - There's growing public backlash against some protesters who demonstrated following the Eric Garner grand jury decision. As CBS2's Diane Macedo reported, a new poll found most people don't agree with their tactics.

Eric Linsker was all smiles as he left a Brooklyn court Sunday, but he may not be smiling for long.

The 29-year-old Baruch College professor faces criminal charges after police say he tried to throw a trash can over a railing at a Brooklyn Bridge protest against the Garner grand jury decision.  

Now, a new Facebook page calling for him to be fired has already garnered almost 4,000 likes.

Students at Baruch had mixed reactions.

"I think it's good that a professor at our school is taking interest and publicly showing his views," sophomore Priya Lafrazo said.

"I think it's pretty good that at least he stood up for what he believed in," another student said.

"Standing up for something is one thing, but what they're accusing him of, which is like basically borderline anarchy, it is not excusable," junior Eli Zathrowitz said.

"I'm a supporter of freedom of speech, but when violence is used, that's never the right thing to do," freshman Christos Bakalexis said.

A new Quinnipiac University poll shows a majority of New York voters agree. Fifty-seven percent said they disagree with protesters' tactics and don't think they should block traffic. Sixty-seven percent also said they disapprove of the grand jury's decision not to indict the main officer involved in Garner's death.

For the NYPD, however, the focus right now is on finding the four men and three women they say attacked two lieutenants as they tried to arrest Linsker on the bridge that night.

PHOTOS: Suspects In Attack On NYPD Lieutenants

"Male No. 2 has a hat on, and later on his hat falls off and he has a receding hair line," NYPD Deputy Chief William Aubry described. "He's seen kicking Lt. Sullivan. Male No. 3 is the most disturbing as well as male No. 2. He pulls the officers down to the ground, and then he proceeds to run away."

Police are now offering a $12,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of those remaining suspects.

Polices say they've received several tips regarding those suspects. They're also searching for several witnesses who saw the clash unfold and possibly even recorded it.

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