The crowd was outraged that the cop, Joseph Gray, had been released without bail after being charged with driving while intoxicated, second-degree manslaughter, second-degree vehicular manslaughter, reckless driving, and reckless endangerment.

Gray, who refused to take a breathalyzer alcohol test after he was arrested, registered a 0.16 percent alcohol blood level in a court-ordered test about three-and-a-half hours after the crash.

According to the local media, a witness said the off-duty cop struck Maria Herrera, 24, who was pregnant; her younger sister Dilcia Peña, 16; and Herrera's son, Andy, 4. The family was crossing the street during a "walk" signal.

"We demand justice! We demand prison for a drunken police officer who ran over and killed four people!" said a leaflet circulated by the family and friends to neighbors and others inviting them to the vigil and protest.

Participants in the demonstration gathered for a candlelight vigil at the site of the crash. They marched to the police department's 72nd Precinct where Gray is assigned. "We are angry!" and "A whole family gets killed and he still gets to be free, because he's a cop!" were comments by several people during the protest.

Many joined as the march proceeded down the street. "We didn't think that this many people would come out," said Arianny De Jesus, a friend of the family. "We just got on the phone, called people, and passed out the fliers," she said at the vigil.

The night before a group of people gathered to demand justice and show support for the family. "If they think the family is going to let this go, they got another thing coming," said Rosa Peña, the victim's cousin.

New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, while expressing his disappointment with the judge's decision not to impose a high bail, has defended the way the cops have handled the case.

Family members and supporters will come together again for the funeral and for another protest August 10 when Gray is due in court.  
 
 
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