Bill De Blasio Responds To Eric Garner Grand Jury Decision |
Bill De Blasio Responds To Eric Garner Grand Jury Decision
The Huffington Post
2014-12-03
Sam Levine, Associate Politics Editor
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said Wednesday that a grand jury’s decision not to indict a police officer involved in the death of Eric Garner was a decision “that many in our city did not want.”
The officer, Daniel Pantaleo, put Garner in a chokehold that was captured on video during an arrest for selling untaxed cigarettes in July. In the video, Garner can be heard repeating, “I can’t breathe.”
In a statement, de Blasio called Garner’s death “a great tragedy” but said that any protests following the decision should be peaceful. He said that his administration was working with police to make sure that similar incidents did not happen in the future. De Blasio also noted that there would be a NYPD internal investigation as well as a separate investigation by the U.S. Attorney…
…During a press conference on Staten Island Wednesday evening, de Blasio called for peaceful demonstrations and spoke in personal terms about Garner’s death. Mentioning that he had met with Garner’s father, de Blasio said that he couldn’t help but think of his own son, Dante, who is black.
“I couldn’t help but immediately think what it would mean to me to lose Dante. Life would never be the same for me after,” de Blasio said. “Chirlane and I have had to talk to Dante for years about the dangers that he may face,” he added.
“No family should have to go through what the Garner family went through,” de Blasio said…
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Tags: Bill de Blasio, Chirlane McCray, Daniel Pantaleo, Dante de Blasio, Eric Gardner, Huffington Post, New York, New York City, Sam Levine, Staten Island, The Huffington Post