Video: NY Man Dies After Police Place Him In Chokehold For Selling Untaxed Cigarettes, ‘I Can’t Breathe!’

An asthmatic Staten Island, New York father died on Thursday after a police officer put him in a chokehold and other officers appeared to slam his head against the sidewalk, according to a video of the incident.

“I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!,” 43-year-old Eric Garner repeatedly screamed after at least five officers took him down in front of a beauty supply store.

The Daily News reports, “Within moments Garner, a married father of six children with two grandchildren, stopped struggling and appeared to be unconscious as police called paramedics to the scene. An angry crowd gathered, some recording with smartphones.”

“When I kissed my husband this morning, I never thought it would be for the last time,” Garner’s wife, Esaw, told the Daily News.

“I saw him with his eyes wide open and I said, ‘Babe, don’t leave me, I need you.’ But he was already gone,” she said.

Detective Howard told the victim’s wife on the phone, “I’m sorry for your loss,” a friend who heard the call said. He said his office was involved “because there is wrongdoing.” According to police officials, Garner had a history of arrests for selling untaxed cigarettes. Police said they observed him selling his wares on Thursday and moved in for an arrest.

Garner was sitting in front of a store just before 5 :00 p.m. when two plainclothes cops began questioning him about selling untaxed cigarette, according to the video.

22-year-old Ramsey Orta shot the video and attempted to intervene, telling the cops his friend had just broken up a fight between three men and had not been selling cigarettes.

When backup uniformed officers arrived, the cops moved in to handcuff Garner.

“Don’t touch me, please,” he said.

“I didn’t do s—!” Garner told the officers when they approached him. “I was just minding my own business.”

“Every time you see me you want to mess with me. I’m tired of it. It stops today!” he yelled.

The video shows, when  Garner refused instructions to put his hands behind his back, one of the plainclothes cops got behind him and put him in a chokehold.

A struggle began while three uniformed officers joined in on the arrest, knocking Garner to the ground.

He screamed, “I can’t breathe!” six times before he went silent and paramedics were called.

“They jumped him and they were choking him. He was foaming at the mouth,” Orta told the Daily News. “And that’s it, he was done. The cops were saying, ‘No, he’s OK, he’s OK.” He wasn’t OK.”

Valencia Griffin, another witness, said, “They were choking him. He kept saying, ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe! Get off of me, get off of me!’ and I didn’t hear any more talking after that.” She added, “He died right there.”

Toward the end of the video, the cop who had choke-held Garner can be seen staring at the camera.

The cop can be heard saying, “This had nothing to do with the fight, this had something to do with something else,” as he walked away.

Watch:

Images: Daily News.

By: Anomaly100