Killing of Eric Garner

On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner, a 43-year-old African American man, died after being placed in a chokehold by New York City Police Department officer Daniel Pantaleo during an attempted arrest in the Staten Island neighborhood of Tompkinsville. Officers approached Garner on suspicion of selling loose, untaxed cigarettes. Garner told officers he was tired of being harassed and denied selling cigarettes. When Pantaleo attempted to handcuff him, Garner pulled his arms away, and Pantaleo placed his arm around Garner's neck, taking him to the ground. Multiple officers pinned him down while Garner said "I can't breathe" eleven times. He lost consciousness and lay on the sidewalk for several minutes before an ambulance arrived; he was pronounced dead at a hospital approximately one hour later. The incident was recorded on cell phone video by bystander Ramsey Orta.

The New York City Medical Examiner's Office ruled Garner's death a homicide, citing "compression of neck, compression of chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police," with asthma, heart disease, and obesity listed as contributing factors. An independent autopsy commissioned by Garner's family, performed by former medical examiner Michael Baden, reached similar conclusions regarding neck compression. Pantaleo's police union disputed that a chokehold was used, noting that Garner's hyoid bone was not fractured; the city medical examiner responded that a fracture is not necessarily present in chokehold deaths.

On December 3, 2014, a Richmond County grand jury decided not to indict Pantaleo. The decision prompted protests across the United States and internationally, with demonstrators using Garner's last words, "I can't breathe," as a chant against police brutality. Counter-demonstrations in support of police also occurred. On December 20, 2014, two NYPD officers were killed in an ambush in Brooklyn by a gunman who cited Garner's death, among other police killings, as motivation before taking his own life.

In July 2015, the City of New York agreed to a $5.9 million settlement with Garner's family to resolve a wrongful death claim. The U.S. Department of Justice conducted a multi-year civil rights investigation; in 2019, Attorney General William Barr announced that no federal charges would be brought against Pantaleo. Separately, an NYPD internal disciplinary hearing concluded in June 2019, and in August 2019 Deputy Commissioner of Trials Rosemarie Maldonado recommended Pantaleo's termination, finding that video and autopsy evidence showed his use of a chokehold was reckless. NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill fired Pantaleo on August 19, 2019, more than five years after Garner's death. Pantaleo's subsequent lawsuit seeking reinstatement was unsuccessful.

In 2020, New York State enacted the Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold Act, making death or injury caused by a police chokehold a felony offense in the state.