A probe has been launched into the death of a Staten Island man during an altercation with NYPD officers who allegedly put the victim in a chokehold before he went unconscious, the Associated Press reported.
Eric Garner, a father of six, just broken up a fight in the Tompkinsville area of the island when several officers approached him Thursday afternoon on suspicion of selling untaxed cigarettes.
"Leave me alone," Garner, 43, repeatedly said before the officers charged at him, according to a video of the incident recorded by a witness and obtained by the Daily News.
An officer places the 300-pound man in what appears to be a chokehold as he crumbles to the ground. Garner is heard saying, "I can't breathe" as the officer continues the hold, according to the video.
The victim, who reportedly had asthma, later died at Richmond University Medical Center, according to the Los Angeles Times. A cause of death has not been announced, but according to the AP the victim had a heart attack.
Police Commissioner William J. Bratton said it was possible the officer used a chokehold, which is against protocol.
"Yes, as defined in the department's patrol guide, this would appear to have been a chokehold," Bratton said according to the LA Times. "But the investigation, both by the district attorney's office as well as by our Internal Affairs, will seek to make that final determination as part of our investigation."
Two of the officers involved have since been placed on desk duty.
Residents are calling the incident an unjust death carried out by the police.
"They killed him," Esaw Garner, the victim's wife who saw the video, told the Daily News. "They chocked him and took him down and I could hear him screaming that he couldn't breathe. It was so hard to watch. He was a nonviolent gentle giant and they killed him."
