Clergy Members Gather To Protest Against Police Policies After Garner Decision
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- More protests were held Friday against the NYPD policing policies, in the wake of the grand jury decision in the apparent chokehold death of Eric Garner.
As WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reported, faith leaders gathered Friday outside City Hall and picked up on the theme, "Black lives matter."
"We know that you police our neighborhoods differently, you treat our people differently," said the Rev. John Grable of the First Church of God in Far Rockaway, Queens.
Clergy Members Gather To Protest Against Police Policies After Garner Decision
With concerns about policing, the Rev. Patrick Young, of the First Baptist Church of East Elmhurst, Queens, said protesters will not be silent.
"The faith community hears you cry and when you're standing up," he said.
The clergy members said they will not go away.
Garner, a 43-year-old father of six from Staten Island, died in July after police officers attempted to arrest him for allegedly selling loose, untaxed cigarettes.
In cellphone video of the incident, NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo is seen placing his arm around Garner's neck in an apparent chokehold and then taking him to the ground after Garner refuses to be handcuffed.
Garner is heard saying repeatedly, "I can't breathe!" He died a short time later.
A grand jury last week declined to indict Pantaleo. But he is currently under an NYPD investigation that could lead to administrative charges against him.
On Thursday, Garner's 24-year-old daughter, Erica, organized a protest march that ended in a die-in at the spot where Garner died on Staten Island this past summer.
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