The cop who killed Eric Garner should rot in prison, the victim’s widow said.
Esaw Garner, a day after officials confirmed that a police chokehold and chest compressions killed her husband, revealed on Saturday that she had met with Staten Island prosecutors.
And now she wants action.
“I want to thank God above for giving us justice for my husband,” she said, referring to the medical examiner’s findings. “So that we can move forward and get this cop done with.”
The examiner ruled Eric Garner’s death a homicide. Police approached him on July 17 near the intersection of Victory Blvd. and Bay St. on Staten Island. Police said the 43-year-old man was selling untaxed cigarettes and that Garner resisted arrest.
As cops took the father of six to the ground, video shows Officer Daniel Pantaleo putting the man in a chokehold, a tactic banned by the NYPD in 1993. The shocking video first released exclusively on nydailynews.com showed the Staten Island man repeatedly pleading with cops, “I can’t breathe!”
Garner appeared lifeless on the sidewalk as cops stood around without trying to revive him. The autopsy said “prone positioning during physical restraint by the police” and Garner’s weight, high blood pressure and asthma were also contributing factors. He weighed about 350 pounds.
“It has been really hard,” Garner’s widow said at an event organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network.
“I’ve been trying to be strong, but it’s very hard.”
Esaw Garner wore her hair in a ponytail and sported a gray hooded sweatshirt. On the sweatshirt were the words, “This Stops Today.”
Those were among her husband’s last words to police before the clash with officers turned physical.
Eric Garner, who had 31 arrests on his record, was alluding to alleged repeated harassment by police assigned to the 120th Precinct. “Now, I just want them to do the right thing and get justice for my husband,” the widow said on Saturday.
Staten Island prosecutors said the case is still under investigation. Pantaleo, the eight-year cop caught on video putting Garner in a chokehold, has been stripped of his gun and badge.
No comments:
Post a Comment