Eric Garner was born on September 15, 1970, in NYC. A father of six, including a three-month-old child, and grandfather of three, Eric Garner worked as a mechanic and a horticulturist in the city’s parks and rec department. He was also known as a peacemaker and a gentle giant, standing at 6’3” and 350lbs, in his Staten Island community. His ability to make peace, unfortunately, would bring on his last moments.

At around 3:30 pm on July 17, 2014, Officers Daniel Pantaleo and Justin D'Amico approached Eric Garner outside a beauty shop in Tompkinsville, Staten Island. Garner had just broken up a fight, which most likely caught the attention of the officers. Immediately upon their arrival, Officer D’Amico questioned him about illegally selling cigarettes, as he had been known to do before.

Garner stood his ground, insisting that he did nothing wrong, and asking for police to leave him alone, while his friend and member of Cop Watch, Ramsey Orta. Orta eventually began filming the incident. 

After Garner continued to stand up for himself, Officer Pantaleo attempted to handcuff him. When Garner resisted and asked the police to leave him alone, Officer Pantaleo put his arms around Garner’s neck, slamming him into the window, and eventually forcing Garner to the ground. Surrounded by both uniformed and plainclothes officers, Officer Pantaleo shoved Garner’s face to the ground. Garner could be heard in the video stating 11 times, “I can’t breathe.”

Soon after the incident, with Garner lying unconscious on the sidewalk, an NYPD sergeant called the paramedics, insisting that the suspect was having trouble, but did not appear to be in great distress. Once the ambulance arrived, Mr. Garner was not placed on oxygen or put on a stretcher. Police later said that in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, Garner suffered a heart attack. He died later that day in the hospital. In August, it was revealed that Garner’s cause of death was homicide by strangulation.

The video of Eric Garner’s treatment by police and his death sparked outrage all over the country. “I can’t breathe” echoed as people marched through the streets demanding justice. The protests spread and Officer Pantaleo’s history of misconduct was released to the public. Pantaleo was fired, but he was not indicted, sparking further outrage. 

Eric Garner would have turned 51 years old today. He should have been able to spend the rest of his life with his wife, Esaw Garner, watching their children and grandchildren grow up. Instead, his life was taken from him, and his family was robbed of experiences with him.

Sources:

Black Past

Wikipedia

History

 Kassidy Garland has had a great appreciation for reading and writing since she was young. She graduated from West Chester University in 2017 with a Bachelor’s Degree in English & Women and Gender Studies. With a concentration in creative writing, Kassidy has 5 years of experience writing blogs, articles, and for social media. Kassidy is also pursuing a Master’s degree in IT with a concentration in Web Development. Based out of Philadelphia, Kassidy loves to write about a number of topics and looks forward to sharing her passion with those at FunTimes Magazine. 

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