

"I can't breathe! I can't breathe! I can't breathe! I can't breathe!"

Those were the last words captured on amateur video of an African-American man who died after New York Police Department officers subdued him during an arrest.

The death of Eric Garner, who appeared to be wrestled to the ground with a chokehold (a move that is banned by the NYPD), is the latest example of the surveillance society turned on its head. In the Digital Age, no longer is it just the watchers watching the watched.

New York authorities continued Monday to investigate the Thursday death of the 43-year-old Garner, whose Staten Island arrest was filmed by onlookers and went viral. In the film's wake, there have been renewed calls of NYPD racism from African-American leaders, and several officers involved have been removed from patrol duty.

Garner's death happened the same day that a 51-year-old homeless African-American woman filed a federal civil rights suit against the California Highway Patrol (CHP) stemming from another police incident that went viral online. Amateur video captured the woman being pummeled in the face along a Southern California highway by a CHP officer, who has been assigned to desk duty.

"Since Rodney King... videos have been the equalizer for vindicating citizens' claims against the police," said John Burris, the woman's attorney. "Although, in this case the CHP claim that video does not tell the entire story, it does show enough of the story to demonstrate that the officer's punching of the victim was horrific."

In the New York case, the Rev. Al Sharpton said that Garner's death "is going to be a real test to see where policies are in the city now and whether the change that we feel occurred has occurred." Referring to race relations with the NYPD, Sharpton added, "We are the only ones in the social setup that has to deal with fear of cops and robbers."

In the Garner video—in which Garner is overheard defending his innocence—several officers are seen pushing the father of six to the ground. One officer has his arm around the 6-foot-3, 350-pound man's neck. Then his face is held to the sidewalk when he can be overheard saying multiple times: "I can't breathe!"

He died about an hour later at a local hospital, police said. Garner has a long police record and was arrested on suspicion of selling single cigarettes.

Immediately following the incident, the NYPD said that Garner "went into cardiac arrest and died." New York Mayor Bill de Blasio called the death "very troubling."

Local newscasts, citing unidentified law enforcement officials, said the possible chokehold allegedly used appeared to have left "little damage to his neck and trachea." Medical examiners, however, have not released official results.

"The cause and manner of death are pending further studies, and no findings will be released until the investigation is complete. Any other information or suggestion to the contrary is simply not true," said Julie Bolcer, a medical examiner spokeswoman.

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