Eric Garner

People

Eric Garner

Outcome

unknown

On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner, a 43-year-old Black man, was killed by NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo on Staten Island, New York. Officers approached Garner on suspicion of selling untaxed loose cigarettes. When Garner told officers he was tired of being harassed and pulled his arms away during the attempted arrest, Pantaleo placed him in a chokehold, a technique banned by the NYPD since 1993, and wrestled him to the ground. With multiple officers pinning him down, Garner repeated "I can't breathe" eleven times before losing consciousness. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. The New York City medical examiner ruled Garner's death a homicide caused by the chokehold. Despite the ruling and video evidence of the incident, a Staten Island grand jury declined to indict Pantaleo in December 2014, sparking protests across the country. Garner's final words became a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement, appearing on protest signs and inspiring demonstrations nationwide. Five years after Garner's death, the NYPD fired Officer Pantaleo and stripped him of his pension benefits. Federal prosecutors, under Attorney General William Barr, declined to pursue civil rights charges. The city later settled with Garner's family for $5.9 million. It was subsequently revealed that Pantaleo had been investigated for misconduct seven times in the five years before Garner's death.