Eric Garner, the Staten Island man who complained of not being able to breath while in a police chokehold, died as the result of compression of the neck according to the medical examiner.
The New York City Medical Examiner issued their finding on Friday.
He died because of “compression of chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police,” according to medical examiner spokeswoman Julie Bolcer. Contributing factors to his death included asthma and hypertensive cardiovascular disease, the office ruled. The Associated Press first reported the medical examiner’s findings.
“Thank God the truth is finally out,” Garner’s widow, Esaw Garner, told the New York Daily News. “Thank God for that.”
According to NBC New York:
A spokesman for Richmond County District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, who’s leading the investigation in the case, said his office had been contacted with the cause and manner of Garner’s death but was waiting for the official death certificate and the autopsy report to be issued.
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton also said he received the medical examiner’s report and that the department will continue to cooperate with district attorney’s office. He has previously said he ordered a top-to-bottom redesigning of use-of-force training in the NYPD.
Garner, 43, was arrested by NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo on July 17 on suspicion of selling untaxed cigarettes. Video footage captured the incident with Pantaleo in plain clothes putting Garner in a chokehold. Garner asked the officer to stop because he couldn’t breathe before falling silent. He was later pronounced dead at Richmond University Medical Center
You can watch a news clip, below, from CBS New York:
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