The US justice department has launched a federal investigation into “potential civic rights violations” relating to the death of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who was killed by a US police officer in July.
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,
The decision comes shortly after a Missouri grand jury’s decision not to indict another white police officer, Darren Wilson, in the death of another unarmed black man, Michael Brown. Protests concerning the decision in Michael Brown’s case have been ongoing across the United States for the past two weeks. The decision in Garner’s case sparked further protests with groups claiming that these incidents are symptomatic of larger issues concerning relations between law enforcement, people of colour and inequalities in the criminal justice system.
See our earlier posts:
Grand jury decision over Michael Brown shooting sparks protests (25 Nov 2014)
Missouri State Highway Patrol takes over security in Ferguson (15 August 2014)
State of emergency declared by Missouri governor (16 August 2014)
National Guard deployed as Ferguson protests escalate further (18 August 2014)
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.
The decision comes shortly after a Missouri grand jury’s decision not to indict another white police officer, Darren Wilson, in the death of another unarmed black man, Michael Brown. Protests concerning the decision in Michael Brown’s case have been ongoing across the United States for the past two weeks. The decision in Garner’s case sparked further protests with groups claiming that these incidents are symptomatic of larger issues concerning relations between law enforcement, people of colour and inequalities in the criminal justice system.
See our earlier posts:
Grand jury decision over Michael Brown shooting sparks protests (25 Nov 2014)
Missouri State Highway Patrol takes over security in Ferguson (15 August 2014)
State of emergency declared by Missouri governor (16 August 2014)
National Guard deployed as Ferguson protests escalate further (18 August 2014)