NBC New YorkThe city medical examiner has ruled the death of Eric Garner, the 43-year-old father whose death in police custody sparked national outrage, a homicide, saying a chokehold killed him.
The medical examiner said compression of the neck and chest, along with Garner’s positioning on the ground while being restrained by police during the July 17 stop on Staten Island, caused his death.
Garner’s acute and chronic bronchial asthma, obesity and hypertensive cardiovascular disease were contributing factors, the medical examiner determined.
There was no immediate comment from the NYPD.
Garner’s family members, along with the Rev. Al Sharpton, met with federal prosecutors last month to press for an investigation into his death. Sharpton said police violated his civil rights while arresting him for allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes, and that led to his death.
The U.S. attorney hasn’t commented on the meeting with the Garners. Previously, Attorney General Eric Holder said the Justice Department is “closely monitoring” the investigation into Garner’s death.
An amateur video shows a plainclothes police officer placing Garner in what appears be a chokehold during the arrest. In the video, Garner can be heard multiple times gasping, “I can’t breathe!”. Chokeholds are banned under NYPD policy.
Mayor de Blasio has said he was “disturbed” by the video.
One officer has been stripped of his gun and badge pending an internal NYPD investigation and another has also been placed on desk duty. Two paramedics and two EMTs have been placed on modified duty after allegedly failing to provide CPR in a timely manner.
The case has incited calls for sweeping police department reform. New alleged chokehold videos have emerged in its wake, including one involving an alleged fare beater and another involving a pregnant Brooklyn woman who claims she was put in a chokehold when she questioned officers’ requests to move the site of her BBQ.
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton has said the officer appeared to have placed Garner in a chokehold and has ordered a top-to-bottom redesigning of use-of-force training in the NYPD.
“Medical Examiner Rules Eric Garner’s Death a Homicide, Says He Was Killed By Chokehold” NO SHIT!!!! One hell of a conclusion i’d say.
“The Staten Island district attorney will now determine whether to empanel a grand jury and charge officers in the death of Garner, who lived in the borough. The case is fraught with political consequences for District Attorney Daniel Donovan, a Republican whose office has a strong working relationship with the NYPD and whose constituents are overwhelmingly white and include many officers and their relatives.
If the officers aren’t charged, there’s fear the tensions surrounding Garner’s death could dramatically increase, which is why City Hall wouldn’t oppose the federal government assuming the case, according to a senior administration source who talked to the Associated Press.”
http://7online.com/news/eric-garners-death-ruled-a-homicide-by-medical-examiner/233642/
Hmmm. I wonder what the life expectancy is now for the unnamed city medical examiner.
Any other verdict would have been far too unbelievable to sell.
Even to all but the most brainless of sheeple.