Eric Garner’s family rejected a $5 million settlement offer from New York City last week, a source close to the family told The Daily News. Comptroller Scott Stringer made the offer in a series of ongoing negotiations between the city and Esaw Snipes, the widow of Eric Garner who was killed by a NYPD cop last July.
Garner, 43, died when put into an illegal chokehold by a police officer. The act was captured on video showing the surrounding officers and EMTs not performing CPR once Garner was released and laying on the sidewalk. In December 2014, a Staten Island grand jury refused to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo, the officer responsible for Garner’s death.
The Garner’s family attorney, Jonathan Moore, urged the family to accept the $5 million dollar offer and then seek further settlement against the EMTs of Richmond University Medical Center, said the source to The Daily News. The Garners previously stated that they planned to sue the NYPD for $75 million if a satisfactory settlement wasn’t reached by Friday, July 17.
“I have to stay strong and fight,” said Snipes during a National Action Network (NAN) panel against police brutality in April. “It’s not over. We still have to go through this and it’s a shame.” Garner’s last words “I can’t breathe” became a countrywide phrase used to protest unjust police brutality.
Eric Garner widow refuses $5 million City settlement
Reuters/Julia Xanthos/Pool
