Erica Garner, whose father Eric Garner died in 2014 after being put in a chokehold by police, has died at the age of 27 after suffering a heart attack.

Mr Garner's death was caught on tape as he told Staten Island, New York police who were arresting him: "I can't breathe."

Ms Garner became a prominent activist in the years since, advocating for the safety of the black community and others from police brutality.

Family members told the New York Daily News that Ms Garner had suffered a heart attack a week ago. Her brain had been starved for oxygen following the cardiac incident and she slipped into a coma from which she never woke.

Doctors had declared her brain dead a few days ago as a person identified as a coworker took over the activists Twitter account to update followers on Ms Garner's condition.

“She was a warrior, she was a fighter and we didn’t pull the plug on her,” Esaw Snipes, Ms Garner's mother, said.

Ms Snipes said her daughter "left on her own terms.”

USA: Everybody could be Eric Garner - Eric Garner s daughter

In the wake of her father's July 2014 death, Ms Garner led protests and the video spurred the formation of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Mr Garner, a father of six, had been unarmed when New York City Police officer Daniel Pantaleo choked him for resisting arrest after selling "loosies," or single cigarettes, outside of a store on Staten Island.

Mr Garner had asthma and told officers on the scene 11 times that he was unable to breathe.

In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Show all 30 1 /30 In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests Protesters stand in Foley Square in New York City during demonstration against the chokehold death of Eric Garner In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests A protestor hold up her hands in front of the NYPD as she and others block traffic on the West Side Highway during demonstrations in New York In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests Police make an arrest as protesters rallying against a grand jury's decision not to indict the police officer involved in the death of Eric Garner march through Midtown in New York In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests New York City police officers push people out of an intersection in Times Square In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests A demonstrator is arrested during a protest following the decision by a Staten Island grand jury not to indict a police officer who used a chokehold on Eric Garner, who subsequently died, in New York In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests A demonstrator is arrested during a protest In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests epaselect epa04515471 A woman reacts as New York City police officers push people out of an intersection in Times Square during a protest against the decision of a grand jury not to indict a police officer involved in the death of Eric Garner In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests People march toward the West Side Highway during a protest in New York In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests People march over the Brooklyn Bridge in protest against the decision of a grand jury not to indict a police officer involved in the death of Eric Garner EPA In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests People gather in front of the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Buiding during a protest in New York In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests Police make arrests after protesters rallying against a grand jury's decision not to indict the police officer involved in the death of Eric Garner attempted to block traffic at the intersection of 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue near Times Square in New York In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests Demonstrators stage a 'die-in' at an intersection during a demonstration against recent grand jury decisions not to indict police officers in the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, in Boston, Massachusetts In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests A demonstrator protests recent grand jury decisions not to indict police officers in the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, at Boston Common in Boston, Massachusetts In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests Police struggle with protesters as they try to get closer to a building during a protest against the decision by a Staten Island grand jury not to indict a police officer who used a chokehold in the death of Eric Garner, in Boston, Massachusetts In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests State Police officers guard the State House during a protest against the decision by a Staten Island grand jury not to indict a police officer who used a chokehold in the death of Eric Garner, in Boston, Massachusetts In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests A protester dressed as Santa Claus holds up his hands while marching during a protest against the decision by a Staten Island grand jury not to indict a police officer who used a chokehold in the death of Eric Garner, in Boston, Massachusetts In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests Protesters hold up their hands before police as they block traffic on the West Side Highway during demonstrations in New York In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests The Lower Manhattan skyline, including One World Trade Center, is seen in the background as protesters, demanding justice for Eric Garner In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests Demonstrators protest a grand jury decision not to charge a New York policeman in the choking death of Eric Garner, in New York In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests At the start of the march protestors walk down West Market street to Broad street. The Newark AntiViolence Coalition and the People's Organization for Progress march, in Newark, protest the Eric Garner Grand Jury decision not to indict the New York City Police Department officers for Grander's death In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests Police clash with protesters on the West Side Highway in New York after a grand jury decided to not indict police officer Daniel Pantaleo over the death of Eric Garner Getty In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests Demonstrators block traffic at 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in protest at the grand jury's decision Getty Images In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests Ashley Reid of Atlanta protests at historic Auburn Avenue near the tomb of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., against the decision of a grand jury not to indict a police officer involved in the death of Eric Garner EPA In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests Protesters march near the Space Needle during protests in Seattle, Washington EPA In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests Demonstrators chant during protests in Seattle, Washington EPA In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests Students at Emory University participate in a mass 'die in' during a protest on campus against the decision of a grand jury not to indict a police officer involved in the death of Eric Garner EPA In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests Students at Emory University participate in a mass 'die in' during a protest on campus against the grand jury's decision EPA In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests People take part in a protest in support of Eric Garner at the 6th Avenue, New York Getty Images In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests Demonstrators march in protest on the streets of St. Louis, Missouri AFP In pictures: Protests over death of Eric Garner Eric Garner protests A man holds a banner as he takes part during a protest in support of Eric Garner at Union Square Getty Images

Mr Pantaleo was stripped of his badge, gun, and put on desk duty while the department banned the use of a chokehold while arresting people.

He was never criminally charged with Mr Garner's death and continues to serve as an officer.

Ms Garner's activism led to meeting former President Barack Obama and campaigning for erstwhile presidential candidate and current Senator Bernie Sanders last year.

She, like her father, also had asthma and family members said that is what triggered the attack. However, this was not Ms Garner's first heart attack.

Just four months she gave birth to her son, named after her father. Doctors said Ms Garner's post-partum attack was a result of the pregnancy putting too much stress on her already-enlarged heart.