US: Mourners gather to mark second anniversary of Eric Garner’s death

Garner died after repeatedly calling out "I can't breathe'' as police officers pinned him down in Staten Island two years ago

By: AP
New York | Updated: July 18, 2016 01:46 AM IST

1 min read

Supporters at a gathering on the eve of the death of Eric Garner, in the Brooklyn borough of New York Saturday, July 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

Dozens of people have gathered in New Jersey to mark the second anniversary of the death of Eric Garner, whose chokehold death became a rallying cry for protests over police killings of black men.

Garner’s mother joined the Rev. Al Sharpton and the mothers of more than a dozen other men killed by police officers Sunday morning at a church in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

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Garner died July 17, 2014, after repeatedly calling out “I can’t breathe” as police officers pinned him down in Staten Island, New York. Authorities say he had been accused of illegally peddling cigarettes on a street.

A New York grand jury declined to indict an officer seen on video apparently holding Garner in a chokehold. A federal civil rights probe is still ongoing.

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