Grammy-winning rapper Common is beyond disgusted right now. The Chicago rap veteran has shared his frustrations and heartbreak over a police officer not getting federally charged in the chokehold death of New York resident Eric Garner.
Common went to Instagram this week to explain his state of mind following the Depart of Justice’s decision not to federally charge NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo.
A day before the anniversary of Garner’s 2014 death, the Department of Justice made its controversial decision.
A contentious, yearslong debate inside the Justice Department over whether to bring federal civil rights charges against an officer in the death of Eric Garner ended on Tuesday after Attorney General William P. Barr ordered that the case be dropped. The United States attorney in Brooklyn, Richard P. Donoghue, announced the decision one day before the fifth anniversary of Mr. Garner’s death at the hands of police officers on Staten Island. (New York Times)
Garner’s mother spoke on the choice and expressed how much pain it brought the family.
“Today we can’t breathe because they have let us down,” Gwen Carr, Eric Garner’s mother, said at a press conference after the decision was made public. “We have been on the forefront. We have followed it up. We had to go. We had to fight. This is not a easy fight but we kept on pushing.”
“And make no mistake about we’re going to still push,” she added. “You could push back but we’re pushing forward because this is not the end.” (NBC New York)
According to reports, the DOJ had up until today to make a decision on whether to not to hand out federal charges.
Wednesday, five years after Garner died, was the deadline for federal authorities to decide whether to bring civil rights charges. Pantaleo is accused of placing Garner in a chokehold, which he denies. “Five years later and there’s still no justice,” said Emerald Garner, Eric Garner’s daughter. Garner’s death was ruled a homicide by New York’s medical examiner, who said the incident triggered a fatal asthma attack. (WKYT News)
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