Leid Stories - 07.13.15

A Year After Eric Garner’s Murder, Still No Justice

On July 17, 2014, the life of Eric Garner, a 43-year-old father of six from Staten Island, N.Y., came to a horrific end in a matter of seconds—death by police chokehold. Plainclothes officers had approached Garner to arrest him for selling loose cigarettes. When Garner objected to being arrested, Officer Daniel Pantaleo, 29, one of brought Garner to the ground with a chokehold that was the principal caused of his death, medical examiners determined.

Garner’s death, ruled a homicide, touched off demonstrations nationwide demanding an end to police brutality and excessive use of force. But Pantaleo so far has not been charged with any crime connected his chokehold killing of Garner, nor has the New York Police department taken disciplinary action against the officer for using the banned maneuver.

A year after Garner’s death, Leid Stories revues the case and its key actors, noting that justice remains elusive.