New York Post reports that grand jury in Staten Island, New York has cleared a New York Police Department (NYPD) policeman for the death of Eric Garner, an african-american male who was found by police to be peddling loose cigarettes in public.
In July, NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo was seen on video camera placing Eric Garner in a choke-hold position whilst other officers restrained him to the ground with Garner eventually dying of suffocation-related complications.
On Wednesday, the grand jury issued a ‘no-bill’ decision whilst also dismissing any potential charges against the policeman.
Today’s decision will be greeted with disbelief by many observers in the rights community as Garner’s death was widely regarded as the poster case for police brutality in low-income neighborhood policing in New York City.
