Eric Garner’s family said goodbye to the 43 year old father of six children during a ceremony at the Rosedale Memorial Park Cemetery in New Jersey. Garner died after cops used a chokehold to arrest him. Read more on the story after the jump!
Garner was taken down by cops in a chokehold after they accused him of selling illegal cigarettes. The chokehold is a move banned by the NYPD. During the confrontation, Garner told the police, that “it stops today.”
Garner was buried in a white casket with gold fittings while his family members supported each other through the intimate ceremony. Sanford Rubenstein, a civil rights lawyer who is known for his lawsuits against the NYPD, stood with the family at the ceremony. As the family posed for a photo with the lowered coffin they screamed, “It ends today!”
Rev. Al Sharpton plans to meet with Assistant U.S. Attorney James McGovern, who is the chief of the criminal division, and Taryn Merkl, chief of the civil rights division, about the case. Sharpton says, “At one point, you have to say he was operating intentionally,” he said. “When someone keeps telling you ‘I can’t breathe’ and you keep them in a lock, that’s intentional.”
Our prayers are with Eric Garner’s family!
