Protests Over Grand Jury Not Indicting Police Officer in Eric Garner Choke-Hold Case

Thousands of protesters descended on midtown Manhattan on December 3 to demonstrate against a grand jury’s decision not to indict a white police officer involved in the death of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man.

A grand jury declined to indict New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo who used an apparent chokehold on Garner during an arrest for allegedly selling loose, untaxed cigarettes on Staten Island New York.

Police said they approached Garner because he was selling unlicensed cigarettes and that he resisted arrest. Police also said Garner’s record listed 31 arrests, starting when he was 16.

Garner died on July 17 and a medical examiner later ruled Garner’s death a homicide with the chokehold contributing to it.

Largely peaceful demonstrations went on at the Grand Central Terminal, Times Square and near the Rockefeller Center, with protesters shouting, “I can’t breathe,” Garner’s last words.

Pantaleo’s continued employment with the police department made the protestors even angrier.

[Sound bite] “There’s a man that was choked out on camera. No one was arrested. They were on leave and they were paid and no one’s losing their jobs. This is ridiculous,” said a female protester.

[Sound bite] “I think it’s more a power struggle between a community and the cops, absolutely,” said another protester.

The U.S. justice department is to launch a civil rights investigation into the death of Garner following the grand jury verdict.

This decision came barely a week after a grand jury found no criminality in the actions of another white police officer that led to the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, adding more wind to the fires raging in America’s race relations.

This event and what happened in Ferguson is beginning to fulfill a terrible prophecy of our future. For an in-depth analysis on why America is having so many race problems, read Gerald Flurry’s article, “Where America’s Race Riots Are Leading.”