Erica Garner, the daughter of Eric Garner, the man on Staten Island that was chocked to death by police for allegedly selling a loose cigarette, took a powerful stance yesterday protesting in the same spot her father died..
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — The daughter of Eric Garner led a protest Thursday afternoon at the very site where her father died after being placed in an apparent chokehold by police this past summer.
About 30 demonstrators gathered in front 41 Bay St. in Tompkinsville, Staten Island, and headed to Bay Street and Victory Boulevard where Garner died, according to a Staten Island Advance report.
She says her father never should have died the way he did.
“That just killed my soul. It’s just like, they just took my breath away. Like I was just saying to the TV you know, please daddy move,” she told WCBS 880’s Peter Haskell.
(Credit: Peter Haskell/WCBS 880)
Garner’s 24-year-old daughter, Erica, organized the protest via social media and said she was overwhelmed by the support she received, the Staten Island Advance reported.
Protesters could be heard chanting, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Pantaleo has to go.”
Garner, a 43-year-old father of six from Staten Island, died in July after police officers attempted to arrest him for allegedly selling loose, untaxed cigarettes.
In cellphone video of the incident, NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo is seen placing his arm around Garner’s neck in an apparent chokehold and then taking him to the ground after Garner refuses to be handcuffed.
Garner is heard saying repeatedly, “I can’t breathe!” He died a short time later.
A grand jury last week declined to indict Pantaleo. But he is currently under an NYPD investigation that could lead to administrative charges against him.
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