Much has been written about Eric Garner, the 43-year-old Staten Island man who died after a physical altercation with a policeman outside of a nearby storefront.
Questions and anger about police brutality, the worth of Black lives and the repeated failure of juries to indict policemen who kill in the line of duty remain. The spin cycle has already begun. But aside from spawning yet another hashtag about police brutality with his dying words, who was Eric Garner? Here, we look at his life through photos.
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Photo: Facebook
Many outlets have and will continue to report Garner having been arrested at least 30 times. It should be noted those arrests date back to 1980 and span a course of some 34 years.
Eric Garner worked within the parameters of America’s legal system to address his issues with police. Garner filed a complaint in federal court against an officer who allegedly conducted a cavity search on him in the street.
Eric Garner was a father to six children.
Despite dying a violent death, friends of Garner say he was a peaceful man. Both his reverend and his lawyer referred to him as “a gentle giant.”
“Big E,” as he was affectionately known as, was a man of varied interests. His previous jobs included working as a mechanic, working as a nightclub security man, and working as a horticulturist for the city’s parks department.
Eric Garner wrestled with various health issues including diabetes, sleep apnea, and asthma. But make no mistake, the New York City Medical Examiner ruled Garner’s cause of death as “the compression of his chest and prone positioning.”
Eric Garner is a name on a death certificate. The man choked by Daniel Pantaleo was “Big E” from Bond Street in the Port Richmond section of Staten Island.
Mr. Garner was a fighter but not in the sense that some would portray by playing up his large 6’3” 350-pound frame. Christopher Pisciotta of the Staten Island office of Legal Aid told The New York Times Garner planned to take all the cases against him to trial as opposed to settling.
After multiple run-ins with members of the 120th precinct and pursuing legal action, Garner was reportedly at his wits end, telling officers, “This ends today.”
