Eric Garner: Wednesday marks the tenth anniversary of his death by chokehold at the hands of NYPD officers

STATEN ISLAND (WABC) — Ten years have passed since the death of Eric Garner, who was killed by police in his community on Staten Island in 2014.

A video posted online shows the defendant’s final breaths at the hands of police. The scene shocked the city and sparked nationwide protests demanding accountability and an outcry against police brutality.

Eyewitness News’ Phil Taitt sat down with Garner’s 29-year-old son and Garner’s mother to look back on the past decade.

Eric Garner Jr., Garner’s son, said the memories come back when he runs up and down the basketball court in Staten Island where he learned the game with his father.

“He taught me how to dribble and how to shoot, how to jump off my left leg when I make a layup with my right hand,” Garner Jr. said.

Garner Jr. signed a full scholarship to Essex County College with his father by his side.

When asked what the biggest loss for him since his father’s death was, Garner Jr. replied, “Father’s Day.”

Garner died on July 17, 2014, after gasping for air and police repeatedly placed him in an illegal chokehold and he was heard saying, “I can’t breathe.”

He had been stopped by the police for allegedly illegally selling loose cigarettes.

The officer who applied the illegal chokehold was Daniel Pantaleo.

“10 years later, I’m no longer angry at the police,” Garner Jr. said. “I’m angry at Daniel Pantaleo because he shouldn’t have had to choke my father on a curve like that.”

Garner’s final words became a rallying cry and sparked protests around the world demanding justice and police accountability.

His death was ruled a homicide, but a grand jury declined to indict Pantaleo or anyone else at the scene.

Five years later, Pantaleo was dismissed from the police force.

Commissioner James O’Neill said: “It is clear that Daniel Pantaleo can no longer work effectively as a police officer.”

For the past decade, Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, has given free rein to her anger.

Her life goal today is to reform the police.

At the top of their list was a ban on police chokeholds.

“Chokeholds have only been banned in New York State. We need a statewide law that says you can’t choke a person to death. You can’t restrict their breathing,” Carr said.

Her son’s death sparked a national conversation and led to change, thanks in large part to Carr.

The New York Attorney General can now prosecute police-caused deaths of unarmed civilians.

Carr’s mission also makes her question other controversial protections for police, such as qualified immunity.

“If we could get rid of this limited immunity, I think we would have a better police force,” Carr said.

Qualified immunity protects public officials from liability for wrongdoing, even if they have violated the law.

The list of people who died at the hands of the police is long. One of them was George Floyd, who, six years later, spoke the same words as Eric Garner as he died.

“We see that these murders, these innocent victims being murdered by police, are still happening. There were several of them immediately after my son’s death. And there were many more after that,” Carr said.

Carr said July 17, 2014, seems like yesterday to a mother who lost her son. And for a son who lost his father, Garner Jr. knows his father’s death can still have meaning.

“Take the video that went viral. Use it as inspiration for people applying to be police officers. This is what not to do. Just like what you can’t do. This is just not right,” Garner Jr. said.

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