The federal decision dragged out for years amid an apparent divide inside President Donald Trump’s Justice Department between prosecutors in the Civil Rights Division and top agency officials. | Mandel Ngan/Getty Images DOJ will not bring charges against officer in death of Eric Garner

Federal prosecutors announced Tuesday that the Department of Justice will not bring criminal civil rights charges against the police officer accused of killing Eric Garner, a Staten Island man whose death five years ago sparked nationwide outrage and helped fuel the Black Lives Matter movement.

The decision by prosecutors in Brooklyn means that Daniel Pantaleo will never face criminal prosecution for Garner’s death in an apparent chokehold.


Federal prosecutors broke the news to Garner’s devastated family in a meeting at the U.S. attorney’s office shortly before announcing their decision publicly.

“This is an outrage, an insult to injury. You killed my son,” Gwen Carr, Garner’s mother, said outside the U.S. attorney's office after meeting with officials . “Five years ago my son said, ‘I can’t breathe’ 11 times. And today we can’t breathe because they have let us down.”

Garner’s arrest, caught on video and quickly spread on social media, roiled New York City, spurred months of protest and launched his dying cry of “I can’t breathe” into a rallying call for activists fighting police brutality across the nation. The decision was announced a day before the five-year anniversary of Garner’s death, when the statute of limitation for certain charges expires.

Richard Donoghue, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said the Justice Department concluded there was not enough evidence to prove Pantaleo violated civil rights law, which would have required proving both that he used unreasonable force and that he willfully broke the law.

“Mr. Garner’s death was a terrible tragedy. But having thoroughly investigated the surrounding circumstances, the Department has concluded that the available evidence would not support federal civil rights charges against any officer,” he told reporters at his Brooklyn office. “We know and understand that some will be disappointed by this decision, but it is the conclusion that is compelled by the evidence and the law.”

A Staten Island grand jury declined in 2014 to bring local criminal charges against Pantaleo, but his family and supporters clung to the possibility that he might still face prosecution on federal charges.

“This man choked my father outside on the street, choked him with no remorse,” said Emerald Snipes, Garner’s daughter.

“Don’t apologize to me. Fire the officer,” she said. “Don’t give me your condolences. I heard that five years ago. We want justice and we want it today.”

The federal decision dragged out for years amid an apparent divide inside President Donald Trump’s Justice Department between prosecutors in the Civil Rights Division and top agency officials. Donoghue apologized for the delay Tuesday. “This should never have taken as long as it did,” he said.

Pantaleo was attempting to arrest Garner on suspicion of selling illegal cigarettes before the confrontation that was captured on video.

Prosecutors concluded that the officer did effectively apply a chokehold, and held Garner in it for about seven seconds, Donoghue said. Although the city medical examiner ruled the death a homicide caused by the chokehold, he said there was some doubt as to whether the maneuver killed him or whether his underlying medical conditions did.

Attorney General William Barr made the final decision not to bring charges himself, the U.S. attorney said. He said it was a “difficult” call to make.

Pantaleo, who has remained on the force but assigned to desk duty, faced a New York Police Department disciplinary trial that concluded last month, and the NYPD must now decide whether to fire him.

Mayor Bill de Blasio insisted for years that the city had to wait for the Justice Department to conclude its investigation before moving forward with the disciplinary case — but said Tuesday that was the wrong call.

“We put our faith in the federal government to act. We won’t make that mistake again,” he said.

Garner’s family and activists called on de Blasio to fire the officer at once.

Rev. Al Sharpton said the federal decision was a “moral disgrace and judicial malpractice,” and said the city must terminate Pantaleo immediately rather than giving him the chance to resign.

“Show you’re better than the Trump administration. Don’t let this man continue to be on the public payroll,” he said.

The federal decision will not affect the NYPD’s disciplinary process, said spokesperson Phil Walzak. Commissioner James O’Neill is awaiting a recommendation from the deputy commissioner of trials before making a final decision on Pantaleo’s fate, he said.

The Police Benevolent Association welcomed the decision not to charge the officer.

“Scapegoating a good and honorable officer, who was doing his job in the manner he was taught, will not heal the wounds this case has caused for our entire city,” said PBA president Pat Lynch.

City politicians roundly slammed the decision not to bring charges, and pushed de Blasio to fire Pantaleo at a rally Tuesday afternoon outside City Hall.

“It is inexplicable,” City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said of the DOJ decision.

Addressing de Blasio, who is running for president and has featured his African American wife Chirlane McCray and son Dante on the campaign trail, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said the mayor had the authority to get rid of the problem cop long ago.

“You cannot be president, you cannot be the Democratic nominee if Daniel Pantaleio is still on the force,” he said. “You can bring your wife out, and you can bring your son, who are lovely people, but that does nothing for the promises that are broken to the black and brown people of this city.”

Carr, who has spent much of the last five years pressing for accountability in her son’s death, again spoke out at the City Hall event, saying the lack of charges gives lie to the Black Lives Matter rallying cry. “Our lives don’t matter,” she said.