US Justice Department launches federal investigation into death of Eric Garner
The announcement, made by US Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday evening, came after a day of protests across New York and the United States following the decision of a Staten Island grand jury not to indict police officer, Daniel Pantaleo, for the death of Garner.
In July, Garner, a father of six, was stopped by police on suspicion of selling untaxed cigarettes. One of the officers, Pantaleo, was then recorded on video placing Garner into an allegedly illegal chokehold and maintaining the chokehold even after Garner can be heard saying on the recording, “I can’t breathe”. An autopsy report established that Garner died as a result of the chokehold. The grand jury deliberated for less than a day before deciding that there was not enough evidence to go forward to trial.
President Barack Obama released a statement in response to the decision on Wednesday saying,
“When anybody in this country is not being treated equally under the law, that’s a problem.”Rights groups and activists have been organising and advocating via social media using the hashtag #blacklivesmatter.