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Lawyer: No indictment for officer in NYC chokehold death

A woman, who did not want to give her name, places flowers at a memorial for Eric Garner near the site of his death in the borough of Staten Island Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014., in New York. A grand jury is deciding whether to indict a New York City police officer in the chokehold death of Garner. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A woman, who did not want to give her name, places flowers at a memorial for Eric Garner near the site of his death in the borough of Staten Island Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014., in New York. A grand jury is deciding whether to indict a New York City police officer in the chokehold death of Garner. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

By Associated Press 4 min read

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 in Staten Island 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 Ferguson, Missouri.

Jonathan Moore, an attorney for Garner’s family, said he was told of the grand jury’s decision.

“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, is really just astonishing,” Moore said.

The Staten Island District Attorney’s office didn’t immediately respond to a call. There was no immediate comment from Pantaleo’s attorney nor the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, a union that has strongly backed the officer.