White New York policeman in Eric Garner death will not be charged

The US Justice Department says it won’t bring criminal charges against a white New York City police officer in the 2014 chokehold death of Eric Garner, a black man whose death fueled the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement as the nation confronted a long history of police brutality.

Garner, a 43-year-old father of six, was detained by New York police on July 17, 2014 for allegedly selling cigarettes illegally in Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City.

Garner died on a sidewalk during his arrest by four policemen who pulled him to the ground while he gasped his final words “I can’t breathe”.

His death, which was caught on bystander video, played a key role in the rise of the movement decrying excessive use of force by police officers against black men and teens in the United States.

One of the officers involved in Garner's arrest, Daniel Pantaleo, had his arm tightly around the suspect's neck, while another pressed his head to the pavement. Garner then stopped moving and was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The New York City Chief Medical Examiner’s office ruled that Garner’s death was a homicide induced by “compression of neck (choke hold), compression of chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police.”

In 2014, a grand jury in New York declined to charge Pantaleo, who has been assigned to desk duty since Garner’s death and faced a disciplinary trial in May at New York City Police Department (NYPD) headquarters.

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Protesters and the family of of an unarmed black man demonstrated Wednesday to denounce a decision to clear the white police officer who fatally shot the victim.

A Justice Department review of the incident did not reach a conclusive determination as to whether Pantaleo willfully committed misconduct, an “essential element” necessary to bring federal charges, a senior department official told reporters Tuesday at a briefing in Washington.

An NYPD judge is due to make recommendations to New York Police Commissioner James O’Neill, who will then ultimately decide whether to punish Pantaleo. He could lose vacation days or be fired.

In 2015, New York City officials agreed to pay Garner’s family an out-of-court settlement of $5.9 million to resolve a wrongful death lawsuit.

US police officers fatally shoot hundreds of people every year, with a disproportionate number of those being black.

Garner’s death, and other high-profile police killings of black men and teens in other US cities triggered a wave of nationwide protests in 2014 and 2015.

Civil rights advocates said the decision to acquit the officer was upsetting but to be expected. Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, and the Reverend Al Sharpton said they were outraged and heartbroken.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is also a Democratic candidate for the White House, condemned the decision.

“Years ago, we put our faith in the federal government to act,” de Blasio said in a statement. “We won’t make that mistake again.”

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