Peaceful Protests Erupt All Over NYC After the Grand Jury Decides Not to Indict Daniel Pantaleo in Eric Garner Chokehold Death Case

Almost immediately after it was announced yesterday that NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo would not be indicted for the chokehold death of Eric Garner in July on a Staten Island street, the backlash and disbelief began. If you tuned in to any of the news stations, then what you saw was inevitably heated debates between journalists and legal analysts over whether or not an indictment for any charge at all seemed like a no-brainer. Then last night, the peaceful protests began.

Smaller groups in Harlem and Staten Island and at Grand Central Terminal were later followed by a march 5,000 people strong down Broadway through Times Square. Protesters are still rallying for some type of justice for Garner, who, just minutes before his death, broke up a fight between a few other people and then found himself surrounded by NYPD. A video of the entire altercation was caught on a cellphone and Garner's hands were clearly up as he backed away from officers who were determined to arrest him for selling loose cigarettes — a summary offense.

Pantaleo wrestled Garner to the ground in what appeared to be a type of chokehold, something that has been banned by the NYPD. Even as Garner expressed his inability to breathe and another officer directed Pantaleo to release him, he continued the maneuver until Garner eventually died on that sidewalk. Ironically enough, after it was announced that the grand jury would not be charging Pantaleo with a single crime, he issued an apology to Garner's family, something his widow, Esaw Garner refused to accept.

This heated case and the protesting that has followed comes a week after Darren Wilson was not indicted in the Ferguson shooting death of Michael Brown. Protesters in that case have been rallying for police officers to be videotaped during all encounters with a suspect, that way the actual interactions are obvious and it is not reduced to he said/she said. The thinking is that it would be easier for a grand jury to indict when necessary when they can actually see what has transpired.

This video of Pantaleo's altercation with Garner seems to completely destroy that theory though, doesn't it?

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NYC, Eric garner, Daniel Pantaleo, No indictment, Grand jury, Dead, Family, Darren Wilson, Michael Brown, Video