The son of Eric Garner, the man who died after being placed in a chokehold by an NYPD officer in July, believes there’s going to be no riots in New York City following a Staten Island grand jury decision on Wednesday.
“I'd tell them to go to the video and see what the officer did, and believe that what he did was a crime,” his son, Eric Snipes, told the New York Daily News Tuesday. “I want him to get indicted.”
A Staten Island grand jury handed down a decision Wednesday not to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the death of Garner. .
“It’s not going to be a Ferguson-like protest because I think everybody knows my father wasn’t a violent man and they’re going to respect his memory by remaining peaceful,” Snipes said. “It’s not going to be like it was there.”
Snipes, a business student at Essex County Community College, added: “Hopefully, it won’t come down to that.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio warned there would be no tolerance for Ferguson-like riots, vandalism, and looting. “People have a right to protest peacefully and we will respect that right,” he said. “But if we think public safety is compromised, then the police will act very assertively to address that problem.”
Pantaleo issued a statement following the decision not to indict him.
“I became a police officer to help people and to protect those who can’t protect themselves,” Pantaleo said, per ABC News. “It is never my intention to harm anyone and I feel very bad about the death of Mr. Garner. My family and I include him and his family in our prayers and I hope that they will accept my personal condolences for their loss.”
Garner’s family said they’re going to file a wrongful death suit against the NYPD for $75 million.
Jonathan Moore, the attorney for Garner’s family, said there were similarities in the Ferguson decision and the decision about Garner’s death.
“The family is very upset and disappointed that these officers are not getting indicted for any criminal conduct,” Moore told ABC.
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