We still fight for Eric Garner
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We still fight for Eric Garner
A New York City Grand Jury tragically refused to indict Eric Garner's killer — NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo. In a horrifying video capturing the brutal killing, Garner can be seen screaming out in pain, "I can't breathe. I can't breathe," as he is strangled to death.
If you've had enough of the NYPD's brutal killings and abuse of Black and brown New Yorkers, join us in demanding Attorney General Eric Holder and President Barack Obama set a higher standard of policing in New York City and across the nation. Call on A.G. Eric Holder and President Obama to do everything in their power to indict Officer Pantaleo and all of the other officers on the scene on federal criminal charges and conduct a full and thorough investigation into the discriminatory NYPD policies and practices that lead to these tragic but avoidable killings time and time again.
Here's the letter we'll send to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and President Barack Obama. You can add a personal comment using the box provided.
Dear US Attorney General Eric Holder and Department of Justice,
I urge you to bring federal charges against Eric Garner's killer and investigate the discriminatory NYPD patterns and practices, such as the "Broken Windows" policing tactic that led to this tragic police killing. A New York City Grand Jury has refused to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo or any of the officers who targeted and choked Eric Garner to death.
Many believe that the NYPD conducted an unlawful stop of Eric Garner; witnesses say he was breaking up a fight, not selling untaxed cigarettes as the NYPD claims. That illegal stop quickly escalated, with fatal consequences. Multiple NYPD Officers can be seen on camera, brutally slamming Garner to the ground and applying pressure to his neck despite him repeatedly saying "I can't breathe." And despite the fact that the entire deadly altercation was caught on camera, the criminal justice system has once again failed to hold a law enforcement officer accountable for choking Garner to death.
I demand that you conduct a full and thorough investigation, convene a federal grand jury, arrest and prosecute Officer Daniel Pantaleo to the fullest extent of federal law. By filing federal charges against Officer Pantaleo the DOJ could make it clear that they are prepared to uphold the value of Black life and protect Black folks from discriminatory policing tactics and police violence, especially when local prosecutors fail to do so.
According to FBI statistics, law enforcement kill Black Americans at nearly the same rate as Jim Crow Era lynching. And the NYPD’s unjust killing of Eric Garner is one among many, and cops who kill or brutalize Black folks are almost never held accountable for their deadly actions. In 1999, officers fired 41 shots at Amadou Diallo, killing him in his Bronx apartment, in 2006, police fired 50 shots at Sean Bell, killing him on his wedding day in Queens, in 2012 officers targeted Ramarley Graham, broke down the door to his home without a search warrant, and killed him in front of his grandmother and younger brother and just last month an officer "accidentally" shot and killed Akai Gurley. This devastating crisis cannot continue.
We are in a historic time; the tragic police killings of Eric Garner, Mike Brown, Akai Gurley, Tamir Rice and so many others has inspired a powerful police accountability movement. And what the DOJ does in this moment will have a major impact on the future of racial profiling and police brutality in America.
The DOJ has the power and responsibility to seucre justice for Eric Garner and investigate the NYPD policies and practices that keep leading to these deadly encounters. I urge you to take immediate action, file federal charges against Officer Daniel Pantaleo and all of the other officers on the scene and overhaul discriminatory NYPD policies and practices that keep leading to these deadly encounters.
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]