One year after a Staten Island cop wrapped Eric Garner in a chokehold, the big man's mother and widow still find each difficult day defined by his death, reports the New York Daily News. The final words from Garner, 43, morphed into a coast-to-coast rallying cry: “I can't breathe.” His three-word epitaph remains a stinging reminder of both his death and a Staten Island grand jury's December 2014 decision not to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo.
Though Garner, the married father of six, was declared a homicide victim after an autopsy by the city medical examiner, the grand jury declined to indict the eight-year cop on any charges after hearing from 50 witnesses and weighing evidence for nine weeks. Officials said he died from the chokehold and compressions to his chest. None of the other officers on the scene, including at least eight who offered no aid to the 300-plus-pound dying man, faced any criminal charges, either. The family's attorney Jonathan Moore is in talks with city Controller Scott Stringer's office that could result in a settlement. Moore has until Friday, a year from Garner's death, to file the lawsuit. He's expected to do so if settlement talks fall apart.