Eric Garner Protests in NYC Lead to Over 30 Arrests

Over 30 people were arrested in New York City following massive protests over the grand jury decision not to indict a white police officer who killed African-American Eric Garner.

MOSCOW, December 4 (Sputnik) — More than 30 demonstrators were arrested in New York City during the protests on Wednesday against the grand jury decision not to indict a white police officer who killed African-American Eric Garner in a chokehold last July, The Wall Street Journal reported quoting the New York Police Department (NYPD).

"As of 9 p.m. [02:00 GMT], about 32 people had been arrested, all near Rockefeller Center, after demonstrators tried to jump and break down police barriers," NYPD spokesman Stephen Davis said as quoted by The Wall Street Journal.

Following the verdict announcement, hundreds of people gathered in New York's Times Square and Staten Island calling for a public trial of officer Daniel Pantaleo. The protesters were chanting "I can't breathe" – the last words Garner said before his death.

Garner, who was an asthmatic, died from suffocation in July after being put in a chokehold by police officer Daniel Pantaleo. A bystander recorded a video of police arresting Garner, who sold untaxed cigarettes, and Pantaleo choking the man to death, as Garner cried out "I can't breathe, I can't breathe". The video went viral on the internet.

Garner, 43, was married and had six children. He has a criminal record of more than 30 arrest, seven of which for selling unlicensed cigarettes.

Wednesday's grand jury decision on Garner follows another similar case in Ferguson, Missouri, where a grand jury decided last week not to indict officer Darren Wilson who killed African-American teenager Michael Brown in August. The killing and the verdict set off nationwide protests and renewed debate over police brutality and racial profiling in the country.