Several videos posted online appear to show a New York City police officer using a chokehold to detain a suspect on a subway platform resulting in the death of Eric Garner, a married father of three children.
Bystander videos show Garner, 43, being wrestled to the ground and placed in an apparent chokehold by a police officer. The video shows Garner gasping for breath, saying “I can’t breathe”. The medical examiner has not yet determined the cause of death. Police say the 350-pound man was selling untaxed cigarettes.
Chokeholds have been banned since 1993 under NYPD rules, but from 2009 through 2013 there were 1,022 complaints about their use brought before the Civilian Complaint Review Board, The New York Times reports.
The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police policy for the use of non-deadly force similarly bans chokeholds.
