Civil rights prosecutors recommend charges in death of Eric Garner

Source: Washington Post

By Matt Zapotosky April 20 at 12:24 PM

Career civil rights prosecutors have again recommended pursuing charges against the officer involved in the death of Eric Garner, whose videotaped takedown by New York City police officers sparked a national outcry, though it remains uncertain if a case will be approved at the highest levels of the Justice Department, a person familiar with the matter said.

The recommendation to charge New York City Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo came in recent weeks, and now must be weighed by Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the person said.

Pantaleo was among those involved in the 2014 incident in which officers took Garner to the ground. Garner, whose gasps of “I can’t breathe” were caught on tape, later died and became a rallying cry for those angered by police treatment of African Americans.

While significant, the recommendation does not offer clarity on where the case might be headed. Career civil rights prosecutors had previously advocated for charges in the case, though they met fierce resistance from their colleagues in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York.

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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/civil-rights-prosecutors-recommend-charges-in-death-of-eric-garner/2018/04/20/01d77236-44b4-11e8-bba2-0976a82b05a2_story.html