The Trump Dept. of Justice will not bring charges against any of the New York City Police Dept. officers involved in the 2014 death of Eric Garner, despite the Obama Dept. of Justice having authorized an investigation into the 43-year-old Black man’s death.
The Washington Post Tuesday morning broke the story, noting that the DOJ had yet to tell Garner’s family. They plan to meet with the family this morning, and hold a news conference at 11 AM.
Under the Trump administration, the case “languished for years,” after then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch authorized the department to move forward just before the end of the Obama era. After “President Trump’s appointed Justice Department leaders came in,” the Post notes, “the case continued to stall.”
There were other factors at work, too.
“Substantiating federal civil rights charges against police officers for on-the-job incidents can be challenging,” the Post notes, adding the FBI initially expressed “skepticism,” and “a Staten Island grand jury also declined to bring charges.”
The City of New York settled a civil claim with Garner’s family in 2015 for $5.9 million.
In his last gasps, Garner said 11 times, “I can’t breathe.” His words became a rallying cry for a movement against police violence.
UPDATE: 11:12 AM ET –
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Image by Paul Silva via Flickr and a CC license