Rain fell softly on Eric Garner’s white casket as it was loaded into a hearse that would drive the 43-year-old father, who died after a New York police officer put him in a chokehold, to his final resting place following an emotional funeral on Wednesday night.

The funeral, held at Bethel Baptist church in Brooklyn, drew a large crowd of mourners and speakers, including the Rev Al Sharpton, who called on the community to fight for justice for Garner’s family.



“We should not act as though we should be here tonight,” Sharpton began. “This is an occasion that should never have been in the first place.”



Garner died last Thursday after a police officer wrestled him to the ground outside a beauty parlor on Staten Island, in an effort to take him into custody on charges of selling illegal cigarettes. Medical examiners have not yet determined the cause of death, but police said he went into cardiac arrest on the drive to the hospital.



In an electric speech, Sharpton argued that the officers involved in Garner’s death deserve to face harsher punishment.



“The chokehold is illegal. But even if you lost your training memory, a man in your arm saying ‘I can’t breathe’ … when does your decency kick in? When does your morality kick in?” Sharpton shouted into the microphone.

“Let’s not play games with this one. You don’t need no training to stop choking a man saying 'I can’t breathe'. You don’t need no cultural orientation to stop choking a man saying 'I can’t breathe'. You need to be prosecuted.”



Sharpton said he will meet with Garner's family about filing a civil rights lawsuit against the department. He also said he plans to meet with the US Attorneys Office's civil rights division at the end of the week to discuss the case.

"Ain't going to be no backroom playing games, waiting to see if we cool out," Sharpton said. "We can't live in a city where you can now choke us."

The officer who put his arm around Garner's neck, eight-year NYPD veteran Daniel Pantaleo, has been stripped of his gun and badge while an investigation takes place. Another officer involved in the incident has been reassigned to desk duty. Four emergency workers have also been placed on modified duty, which officials say is standard procedure.

Garner’s death has sparked protests, investigations, and a full review of the NYPD's training tactics.

Over the weekend, Sharpton rallied supporters in a call for justice for Garner's family. Garner's widow was poised to address the crowd, but was too overcome by grief to speak.

On Tuesday, police commissioner Bill Bratton said the NYPD’s entire 35,000-member force will undergo retraining in the wake of Garner's death. Bratton also said he will review how officers are trained to take people down, as the chokehold has been banned by the department for more than two decades.



On the eve of Garner’s funeral, his family held a candlelight vigil in a park near where he died. After the vigil, demonstrators marched from the park to the 120th precinct stationhouse, where the officers who tried to arrest Garner were assigned, chanting "It ends today" – one of the final things Garner said to police before being taken down. His words have become a rallying cry.



The following day, an open-casket wake was held for friends and family. In the evening, relatives and friends crammed into the Brooklyn church, filling every pew and the balcony – even the stairwells. Mourners waved paper fans to fight the sweltering heat as community leaders took to the pulpit to deliver their eulogies. From time to time, sobs could be heard coming from the front pews, where Garner’s family was seated.

The Rev Al Sharpton at Garner's funeral. Photograph: Reuters Photograph: Reuters

During the service, Bishop Victor Brown told mourners they had every right to be angry over the death of a man known in the community as a "gentle giant", and by his nickname Big E. But the bishop urged people to fight peacefully, not violently.

“We are going to march until we don’t have to come to funerals for this reason,” he said, as the crowd cheered in agreement.

Public advocate Letitia "Tish" James spoke briefly, repeating her call for all street encounters between police and the public to be videotaped. This proposal was met with resounding cheers.

But it was Sharpton who received the most thunderous applause.

“Go to the tape,” Sharpton shouted. “The tape tells what you did and what you didn’t do. This time, we want no excuses, no back-biting. Go to the tape.”



During his speech, Sharpton called Ramsey Ortiz, the young man who filmed the video, to stand with him at the pulpit.

Sharpton praised Ortiz for filming the police encounter.

“This city ought to thank God that when the police and EMS failed us, there was a Ramsey Ortiz,” Sharpton said, his arm around Ortiz.

The video, which was published by the New York Daily News, shows an officer putting his arm around Garner's neck and yanking him to the ground. Garner, who weighed 350lbs and is reported to have suffered from asthma, repeats in a panicked voice: "I can’t breathe, I can't breathe," as officers push his face into the sidewalk. Moments later, Garner’s body appears to go limp.

Absent from the funeral was Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is on vacation in Italy. The mayor arrived in Rome on Saturday after delaying his flight to deal with the fallout from Garner's death.



During a Friday press conference, De Blasio called the incident "very troubling”, and promised a “full, thorough, transparent” investigation. The NYPD internal affairs bureau has launched an internal review, and is working closely with the office of the Staten Island district attorney, which is leading this investigation.



De Blasio and Bratton have promised to mend the frayed relations between police officers and the city's minority communities. Sharpton said this was their opportunity to make good on those promises.



“Y'all said: 'Give me a chance',” he said. “And some of us, even under attack, gave you a chance. You're in city hall now. Now we want you to give justice a chance. We want to see what you're going to do about this.”