Eric Garner wasn’t even selling loose cigarettes. He had done so previously, and had been arrested for it. At the time Garner was murdered, he was not breaking any laws, and multiple witnesses reported he had just broken up a fight.
Still, officers harassed him, and tried to arrest him for resisting arrest. And then when he oddly didn’t want to be arrested for no reason, Daniel Pantaleo broke with department policy and put Garner into a chokehold, killing him with the assistance of multiple other officers as Garner repeated the line “I can’t breathe”, his final words. Police around the country have taken to mocking those final words by wearing tee shirts referring to it in their pro-cop rallies.
Eric Garner wasn’t even selling loose cigarettes. He had done so previously, and had been arrested for it. At the time Garner was murdered, he was not breaking any laws, and multiple witnesses reported he had just broken up a fight.
Still, officers harassed him, and tried to arrest him for resisting arrest. And then when he oddly didn’t want to be arrested for no reason, Daniel Pantaleo broke with department policy and put Garner into a chokehold, killing him with the assistance of multiple other officers as Garner repeated the line “I can’t breathe”, his final words. Police around the country have taken to mocking those final words by wearing tee shirts referring to it in their pro-cop rallies.