As of Wednesday afternoon, a Staten Island grand jury decided not to indict New York Police Department Officer Daniel Pantaleo, who performed a fatal chokehold on Eric Garner while attempting to arrest him. The decision is surprising, especially after the New York medical examiner ruled the death a homicide.
The case gained widespread notoriety after a video of the incident depicting Garner yelling "I can't breathe!" circulated on the Internet.
The New York Times' J. David Goodman and Al Baker report:
The grand jury, impanelled by District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan Jr. in September, has weighed evidence -- including a video recorded by bystanders of Mr. Garner's violent arrest -- and heard testimony from the officers involved...
The case exposed lapses in police tactics -- chokeholds are banned by the Police Department's own guidelines -- and raised questions about the aggressive policing of minor offenses in a time of historically low crime. The officers, part of a plainclothes unit, suspected Mr. Garner of selling loose cigarettes on the street near the Staten Island Ferry Terminal, a complaint among local business owners.
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Officer Pantaleo's gun and badge have been taken from him, although it is unclear whether or not he will return to the NYPD.
The grand jury's decision comes just over a week after a similar grand jury in St. Louis, Mo. decided not to indict Darren Wilson for the death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown.
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