US protesters decry chokehold death verdict

Thousands march against grand jury ' s decision not to charge
white NY police officer for the death of Eric Garner .
Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in US
cities for a second night to protest against a grand jury' s
decision not to charge a white New York City police officer
accused of killing an unarmed black man in a chokehold.
The case of Eric Garner - combined with the decision by a
grand jury last week not to charge the white officer who
shot and killed an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson,
Missouri - have re- ignited debate over a US law
enforcement system widely perceived to unfairly target
African Americans and other minorities.
Al Jazeera ' s Kristen Saloomey , reporting from New York
on Thursday, said thousands had gathered in lower
Manhattan for a rally amid a massive police presence , with
helicopters monitoring the crowds from the air.
"Emotions have been running high at the protests and there is
concern that things could run out of control , " she said . " What
was initially a minority issue has become a national
movement. "
Police said 83 people were arrested a day earlier , mostly
on disorderly conduct charges, in protests held after the
grand jury ' s decision was announced .
In Washington, DC , protesters blocked a major highway,
and at a university campus in Austin, about 200 protesters
held a so - called "die- in " demonstration, simulating being
dead.

Garner, 43 , was killed in July in an apparent chokehold by
police officer Daniel Pantaleo after he stopped him on
suspicion of selling loose , untaxed cigarettes , which is illegal .
The incident was captured in a video that showed Garner
pressed on the ground by police officers while Pantaleo
wrapped his arm around Garner ' s neck .
Garner kept groaning "I can' t breathe " as police officers
firmly held him to the ground.
Rights leaders critical
About 20 civil rights leaders met behind closed doors on
Thursday at the New York City headquarters of Reverend
Al Sharpton ' s National Action Network to plan a response
to the jury ' s decision.
Sharpton, one of the country ' s most outspoken civil rights
activists, said a civil rights summit would be held following a
December 13 march in Washington on racial justice .
National Urban League President Marc Morial said the
lack of an indictment in Garner ' s death was " a travesty of
justice" .
US Attorney General Eric Holder has pledged a Justice
of Department investigation into the case that he said would
be "independent , thorough, fair and expeditious ".
The investigation is likely to focus on whether Pantaleo
employed a chokehold, banned by New York Police
Department regulations , in restraining Garner
Stuart London , the police officer ' s lawyer , said in an
interview that Pantaleo testified to the grand jury that he
never put pressure on Garner ' s neck . Instead, Pantaleo said
he used a proper takedown technique , London said .
That account was echoed by Patrick Lynch , the president of
the patrolmen' s union , who called Pantaleo a "model" officer
at a press conference.
The city ' s medical examiner has said police officers killed
Garner by compressing his neck and chest , adding that
Garner' s asthma and obesity had contributed to his death .
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio , who took office in
January promising to improve relations between minority
New Yorkers and police , told reporters on Thursday the
city ' s thousands of patrol officers would undergo extensive
retraining.
"The relationship between police and community has to
change, " he told a news conference. " People need to know
that black lives and brown lives matter as much as white
lives. "