NEW YORK (AP) – A grand jury cleared a white New York City police officer Wednesday in the videotaped chokehold death of an unarmed black man who had been stopped on suspicion of selling loose, untaxed cigarettes, a lawyer for the victim’s family said.
The decision not to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo threatened to add to the tensions that have simmered in the city since the July 17 death of Eric Garner – a case that sparked outrage and drew comparisons to the fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson. Missouri. The Garner case also sparked protests, accusations of racist policing and calls for federal prosecutors to intervene.
Jonathan Moore, an attorney for Garner’s family, said he was told of the grand jury’s decision. Two law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly on the case, confirmed the officer was not indicted.
“I am actually astonished, based on the evidence of the video tape and the medical examiner, that this grand jury at this time wouldn’t indict for anything,” Moore said.
Unlike the Missouri protests, demonstrations in New York have remained mostly peaceful. The case prompted Police Commissioner William Bratton to order officers at the largest U.S. police department to undergo retraining on use of force.
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