Dear Commons Community,

Following on the heels of the grand jury decision in Ferguson, Missouri, a grand jury on Staten Island voted Wednesday not to indict New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo in the death of Eric Garner, a black man who died after being placed in a chokehold.

Garner, 43, died July 17 while he was being arrested for selling untaxed cigarettes. In a video of the arrest, Garner screams “I can’t breathe!” multiple times until his body goes limp. A medical examiner later said that he died of a chokehold, a move that is banned by the NYPD, and ruled his death a homicide.

Garner’s attorney said Wednesday that the “family is very upset and disappointed that these officers are not getting indicted for any criminal conduct.”

Pantaleo said in a statement Wednesday that he regretted Garner’s death.

Once announced, protests began throughout New York City.

Mayor Bill de Blasio called Garner’s death “a terrible tragedy that no family should have to endure,” and said he would continue to work to decrease the use of excessive force among officers.

“This is a subject that is never far from my family’s minds – or our hearts,” he said. “And Eric Garner’s death put a spotlight on police-community relations and civil rights – some of the most critical issues our nation faces today.”

The decision in the Garner case comes just over a week after a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri, declined to indict officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown.

The video of Eric Garner’s death provides compelling evidence of excessive force and use of a chokehold. I don’t understand the Staten Island grand jury’s decision at all.  To quote from a New York Times editorial:

“Mr. Garner, who was 43, and left a wife and six children, cannot speak for himself. But the video, at least, speaks for him. It’s a heartbreaking, damning exhibit, showing Mr. Garner’s final moments alive, and his final words: “I can’t breathe.”

There will be major protests tonight here in New York and elsewhere over both grand jury decisions.

Tony