Thousands gathered in St. Paul Monday to march four miles in protest of police violence against black people.

The march began at the intersection of University and Snelling avenues in St. Paul where community members gathered and chanted, “black lives matter.”

St. Paul Police Sgt. Paul Paulos said Monday morning that the number of officers at the event would vary based on the number of participants.

“Our goal here is to have a peaceful march, to make sure that everyone is safe and secure and that they feel that they have a right to say what they need to say,” he said.

Some University of Minnesota students joined the march to draw awareness to police brutality and the killing of unarmed black people.

“As young people, we need to start taking action, especially in our communities,” said family social science senior Coretta Osayi Enabulele. “I’m hoping that people, especially legislators and officials, they see that people care for these issues and that they need to be addressed, especially police brutality.”

Black Lives Matter Minneapolis had drafted a list of five demands including requiring law enforcement officers to take cultural competency training and adopting legislation to end racial profiling, according to a Saturday press release from the group. That list had doubled by Monday afternoon.