Garner daughter die-in
THE DAUGHTER of Eric Garner lay down Thursday at the spot where her father was placed in a fatal police chokehold in hopes of getting fellow Staten Islanders fired up to fight for justice.
Since her father’s July 17 death, Erica Garner has held twice-a-week “die-ins” on the Bay St. sidewalk in Tompkinsville.
“I feel the love and energy from around the world, but on Staten Island it’s been emotionless,” the 24-year-old told the Daily News after Thursday’s regular demonstration in front of a beauty supply store where cops confronted her father.
“I felt his spirit when I was walking down to the spot,” she said. “I’ve been doing this every Tuesday and Thursday since my father’s death. I do it without cameras there. I do it with cameras there, and I’m going to keep doing it.”
Since a Staten Island grand jury decided Dec. 3 not to indict NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo, the cop who put the unarmed Garner, 43, in an NYPD-banned chokehold, daily protests have broken out around the world.
On Thursday, hundreds of congressional staffers in Washington walked off their jobs in a show of support for the families of Garner and Michael Brown, the unarmed black teen shot to death by a Ferguson, Mo., cop.
Meanwhile, Pantaleo’s lawyer, Stuart London, told The News it will likely be months before the cop learns if the NYPD will take action against him.
The department’s Internal Affairs Bureau is reviewing a two-hour interview Pantaleo gave on Monday, London said.
The federal government is also investigating the Garner case to determine if civil rights charges are warranted.