Following New York grand jury's decision, emotional widow speaks about husbands death

Eric Garner, killed by NYPD officer

Esaw Garner, the widow of a New York man who was killed by a police officer after being placed into a chokehold where he couldn't breath, spoke at a very emotional press conference following news that a grand jury would not indict the officer behind the killing.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The 43-year-old Eric Garner was killed on July 17, 2014, after an incident involving three police officers. He was placed into a chokehold by NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo despite protests that he could not breathe, and eventually died.

Combat corruption with moral education; send a Bible to a child, or another person in need.

The entire incident was caught on camera by a friend of Garner, and the New York City medical examiner's office ruled that the chokehold was the cause of death, or was highly contributory to it.

The New York branch of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, a police labor union, released a statement on behalf of Pantaleo.

"I hope that they (the Garners) will accept my personal condolences for their loss," the statement from Pantaleo reported.

This prompted Garner's widow, during a press conference held with Al Sharpton, to say that she refused his condolences.

"No, I don't accept his apology," she said. "I could care less about his condolences. My husband is 6 feet under. (Pantaleo) is still working. He's still collecting a paycheck and I'm looking for a way to feed my kids."

"The time for remorse was when my husband was yelling to breathe," a reference to Garner's last words. "That would have been the time for him to show some remorse or some type of care for another human being's life."

Sharpton ended the press conference and attempted to lead the grieving widow away from the podium, but before they could go, she gave one last, damning and emotional plea:

"Who is going to play Santa Claus for my grandchildren?"

At home, following the press conference, she called her husband's death "a modern day lynching."

She believes the footage that shows her husband's last moments on earth should have been enough to pursue a criminal case.

"I'm very disappointed. You can see in that video that (Pantaleo) was dead wrong!"

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'

Copyright 2021 - Distributed by Catholic Online