NYC GRAND JURY nears decision on chokehold death.

NEW YORK — A New York City grand jury is nearing a decision in a case that’s drawn comparisons to the police killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.

The grand jury that began investigating the chokehold death of Eric Garner in September heard last week from what was believed to be its final witness — the New York Police Department officer seen on a widely watched amateur video showing him wrapping his arm around Garner’s neck.

Before the end of the year, authorities are expected to announce whether the officer will face criminal charges in a case that sparked anger and grabbed headlines before it was overshadowed by the killing of the unarmed Brown by a white officer in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson.

A grand jury’s decision not to indict officer Darren Wilson in the Ferguson case led to looting and fires in the hours after the decision was announced.

The Garner video — along with a medical examiner’s finding that the chokehold contributed to his death on the streets of Staten Island — should give a grand jury ample reason to indict, said Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr.

“You’d have to be blind to not see what happened,” Carr said. “I can’t see why it should take so long to reach a decision. … The wait is making me very anxious, of course. But there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan, who has control over the timing of a grand jury vote and an announcement, has declined to comment. But New York City authorities said they’re already taking steps to avoid a repeat of the violent protests in Ferguson.

The New York Police Department sent detectives to Missouri to gather intelligence on “professional agitators” who frequent protests and to share strategies for quelling violence, said Police Commissioner William Bratton. Police also have kept in touch with community leaders on Staten Island to coordinate the response to the grand jury decision.

“We’re always and constantly networking and trying to make ourselves accessible and reaching out,” Bratton said.

The New York case stems from a July 17 confrontation between officer Daniel Pantaleo and other New York officers who stopped Garner on suspicion of selling loose, untaxed cigarettes. The video shot by an onlooker shows the 43-year-old Garner, who was black, telling the officers to leave him alone and refusing to be handcuffed.

Pantaleo, who is white, responded by putting Garner in an apparent chokehold, which is banned under department policy. The heavyset Garner, who had asthma, is heard gasping, “I can’t breathe.” He later was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The medical examiner ruled Garner’s death a homicide caused in part by the chokehold. But police union officials and Pantaleo’s lawyer have argued that the officer used a takedown move taught by the department, not a chokehold, and that Garner’s poor health was the main reason he died.

As in the Brown case, Garner’s family sought intervention by federal prosecutors. Carr and others met several weeks ago with U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch — the nominee to replace outgoing U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder — whose office covers Staten Island. Lynch hasn’t commented.

“She just said that they were keeping an eye on the case,” Carr said. “It gave me something to hold on to.”

Some demonstrators at a recent Brooklyn protest organized in response to the Ferguson case said they expected a similar outcome in New York.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if another cop got off,” said 15-year-old Gramal Ralph, who’s black. “I would hope that we could get justice here, but I don’t have faith in the system anymore.”

Information for this article was contributed by Colleen Long of The Associated Press.