December 4, 2014
Mariah Timms
News Writer
New York City
Attorney General Eric Holder announced a federal investigation into the grand jury decision not on indict a white New York City police officer in the asphyxiation death of an unarmed black male. Officer Daniel Pantaleo placed Eric Garner, 43, an asthmatic, in a chokehold. The use of that type of force is prohibited for the NYPD. The death was caught on camera, and Garner was heard to say “I can’t breathe!” eleven times before he died. The grand jury decision Wednesday led to large protests across the country, including mass demonstrations that effectively shut down much of New York City. Protestors targeted the tree lighting ceremony in Rockefeller Plaza and the Brooklyn Bridge and other main thoroughfares.
D.C. protests took over the Dupont Circle area and moved from the White House to Union Station causing rolling street closures.
