Eric Garner - Thousands of angry New Yorkers took to the street on Wednesday to protest a jury's decision not to indict a white police officer, whose choke-hold on an unarmed black man, lead to the latter's death.
The 23-member Staten Island grand jury announced its verdict on the sensitive case within hours of deliberation. Reports indicate that the jurors arrived at the verdict after establishing that evidence was inadequate to press charges against the officer in question.
Daniel Pantaleo, 29, has been identified as the officer whose choke-hold lead to the death of 43 years old Eric Garner. Pantaleo, an 8-year veteran with the force, testified before the grand jury last month.
He claimed he was following police takedown procedures when he locked Garner in a choke-hold. Pantaleo added that he never thought his actions could be Eric Garner's cause of death.
Pantaleo's verdict comes just nine days after a grand jury in Missouri announced its decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for shooting and killing an unarmed black teenager. Ripples of protests against the Ferguson verdict have spread across virtually every corner of the U.S. and many parts of the world.
Eric Garner was killed on Jul. 17, after an altercation with police officers, who tried to apprehend the father of six for allegedly selling illegal cigarettes on a Staten Island street.
Amateur videos of the incident have since gone viral on the Internet. One video shows several officers trying to arrest Garner, who was on the floor. Officer Daniel Pantaleo has his hand around his neck, in what appears to be a choke-hold.
Eric Garner's last words "I can't breathe" has become a slogan which residents, angry with the jury's decision, have adopted in their protests.
Eric Garner's cause of death has been established as a homicide after a medical examiner ruled that he died due to compression in his neck and chest.
Reports indicate that despite the effects of the choke-hold being established as the Eric Garner's cause of death, the 23-member jury decided that the examiner's report was not enough ground to indict Pantaleo.
"This fight ain't over. It just begun. I'm determined to get justice for my husband because he shouldn't have been killed in that way. He shouldn't have been killed anyway," Garner's widow Esaw Garner said.
New York Sen. Kristen Gillibrand also questioned the jury's decision. "The death of Eric Garner is a tragedy that demands accountability," she said. "Nobody unarmed should die on a New York City street corner for suspect low-level offenses."
Meanwhile, Attorney General Eric H. Holder said a federal investigation into the death of Eric Garner's cause of death has been opened. "This is not a New York issue nor a Ferguson issue alone," he said. "We must seek to heal the breakdown in the trust we have seen."
Despite being cleared of complicity in Eric Garner's cause of death, Pantaleo was stripped of his badge and gun after Garner was pronounced dead. He has released a statement through the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association expressing regret and extending condolences to Eric Garner's family. But his apology has been refused.
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