New York City

Family of Eric Garner to Meet With Justice Dept.

The family and civil right advocates have been demanding that federal authorities bring a federal case against Officer Daniel Pantaleo

The family of a New York City man killed by a police chokehold is set to meet with Department of Justice officials with the outcome of the high-profile federal investigation of the case still unknown, the department confirmed Tuesday.

Eric Garner's family said in a statement that the closed-door meeting would take place on Wednesday at a Brooklyn hotel.

The family and civil right advocates have been demanding that federal authorities bring a federal case against Officer Daniel Pantaleo since a state probe ended without charges against him. But the Justice Department indicated on Tuesday that no decision has been reached.

"As is common with an ongoing investigation, agents and prosecutors from the Department of Justice are meeting with the family of Eric Garner tomorrow," the department said in a statement. "There are no new major announcements regarding the matter."

A grand jury in Brooklyn has been hearing evidence in the civil rights investigation of Pantaleo, who put Garner in a chokehold while arresting him on suspicion of selling loose, untaxed cigarettes on Staten Island in 2014.

A cell phone video of the encounter sparked widespread outrage, and Garner's dying words, "I can't breathe," became a slogan for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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