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A grand jury in New York has reached a decision that no charges will be filed against a New York police officer in the chokehold death of Eric Garner.
The announcement comes less than two weeks after a grand jury in Ferguson, Mo., declined to bring charges against a white police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown.
In Garner’s case, he was arrested on July 17 outside of a convenience store for allegedly selling loose, untaxed cigarettes. A bystander recorded the entire incident on video, which went viral on the Internet.
In the mobile phone video, Officer Daniel Pantaleo is shown putting Garner, who had asthma, in an apparent chokehold, which is banned by the New York City Police Department. The 43-year-old man can be heard shouting, “I can’t breathe!” before losing consciousness.
Three minutes into the video, Garner is lying on the sidewalk motionless as police wait for an ambulance to arrive. He was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Eric Garner’s family attorney told the media, “The family is very upset and disappointed that these officers are not getting indicted for any criminal conduct.”
The hip-hop community is in a state of shock following the verdict. Several artists went on Twitter to express their frustrations on the injustices that were doled out in both the Mike Brown and Eric Garner cases.
From A Tribe Called Quest’s Ali Shaheed Muhammad in tears to Joe Budden’s thoughts on getting away with murder, read their tweets below.
