The New York Times is reporting that a grand jury in Staten Island voted not to file any criminal charges against the police officer who placed a chokehold on Eric Garner during a confrontation this summer, killing him. The officer at the center of the case is white, and Garner, who could repeatedly be heard saying “I can’t breathe” in a video of the incident, is black.
Police suspected Garner was selling cigarettes on a street in Staten Island. Though the officer has been suspended and may face additional punishment from the police department, the grand jury did not charge him with a crime even though chokeholds are officially banned by the department. The case has led to demonstrations and protests from members of the community after a video of the encounter surfaced online, showing the white police officers violently choke the unarmed Garner …
