A small victory has been won today by the family of Eric Garner–the 43 year old African-American man who died after being placed in a chokehold by NYPD officers last July. The family has settled with New York City for an amount of $5.9 million. While this amount is only a small portion of the $75 million that they initially sought, New York City chief financial officer Scott Stringer hoped that the decision would help the “family and other loved ones…move forward.

Garner was accused of illegally selling cigarettes on a sidewalk when he was confronted by several NYPD officers and placed in a chokehold by NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo. This chokehold (banned by the NYPD), was later determined as the cause of homicide with other health issues such as obesity also contributing.

Video footage taken by a civilian of the events resulting in Garner’s death have since become viral and increased the already high tensions between the African-American community and local police. Although reaching a settlement with Garner’s family, New York City continue to deny any liability for the events in July–they did however appoint a special prosecutor to handle investigations when civilians are killed during confrontations with police.

Luke Karakas.

[Via.]

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