I Can't Breath! | Teen Ink

I Can't Breath!

April 16, 2015
By emily padron BRONZE, Houston, Texas
emily padron BRONZE, Houston, Texas
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

July 17, 2014, Eric Garner was standing outside of a convenience store. Who would have known that that would be his last place to be on earth. The situation happened in Staten Island, New York City. Eric was accused of selling single cigarettes, also known as Loosies. He had claimed that he had not been selling cigarettes, and that’s when  everything went downhill. Just then a NYPD officer, Daniel Pantaleo, tried grabbing Garner’s wrist and put them behind his back. Garner shouted, “Don’t touch me!” as he was resisting arrest. Just then Eric was put into a choke hold position.Police pushed Garner’s face into the sidewalk.While he was on the ground , he had pleaded,”I can't breathe!”. The Officers waited for  ambulances to get to the scene and when Connor got to the hospital he was pronounced "dead" when on the arrival to the hospital approximately one hour after New York Police Commissioner William Bratton has said the investigation, which had been on hold during the criminal investigation, is expected to take at least three months.Autopsies revealed Eric was killed by neck compression ,which is a choke hold.Garner’s death was classified as a homicide, or a death caused by the intentional actions of another person or persons.December 3, 2014, a grand jury declared not to indict officer Pantaleo. This obviously angered and disheartened the Graner family, resulting in recent protests and rallies against police brutality.People are going crazy at the gnawing feeling in their minds at loose ends and injustice. Now Ramsey Orta, a witness of the incident who recorded the playout, faces incarceration for recording real evidence.



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