The family of Eric Garner has settled with New York City for $5.9 million to resolve the claim over Eric’s death— Eric Garner died after being put in a chokehold by New York City police last July.
Garner, a 43-year-old father of six, was accused of illegally selling cigarettes on a sidewalk when Pantaleo put him in the chokehold from behind and brought him to the ground with the help of other officers.
The video of Garner’s arrest shows him arguing with officers before Pantaleo put him in the banned maneuver. With officers holding him down, Garner pleaded with them, saying repeatedly: “I can’t breathe.”
The city medical examiner ruled Garner’s death a homicide, finding that officers compressed his neck and chest. Health problems, which included asthma and obesity, were contributing factors in his death, the medical examiner found.
Eric Garner’s death, along with the fatal shooting of an unarmed 18-year-old black man in Ferguson, Missouri, last August by a white police officer, sparked nationwide protest in United States by people outraged over police treatment of African Americans.