Eric Garner remembered on the 10th anniversary of his chokehold death

It has been 10 years since the chokehold death of Eric Garner at the hands of New York City police officers made “I can’t breathe” a rallying cry.

On Wednesday, Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, led a march honoring her son on Staten Island. That's where Garner died after being restrained by Officer Daniel Pantaleo on July 17, 2014.

Garner died after a confrontation with officers who accused him of selling loose, untaxed cigarettes. His death spurred protests in New York and across the country.

Neither state or federal prosecutors chose to file criminal charges against Pantaleo or the other officers who were present.

Video showed Pantaleo, who is white, wrapping an arm around the neck of Garner, who was Black, as they struggled and fell to the sidewalk. “I can't breathe,” Garner gasped repeatedly, before losing consciousness. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Authorities in New York determined that Pantaleo had used a chokehold banned by the New York Police Department in the 1990s, and the city medical examiner’s office ruled Garner’s death a homicide, but neither state nor federal prosecutors filed criminal charges against

Pantaleo or any of the other officers who were present.

Pantaleo was fired in 2019 after a police disciplinary proceeding.

Garner's family settled a lawsuit against New York City for $5.9 million but continued to seek justice in the form of a judicial inquiry into vGarner's death in 2021.

The judicial proceeding, which took place virtually because of the pandemic, was held under a provision of the city's charter that lets citizens petition the court for a public inquiry into “any alleged violation or neglect of duty in relation to the property, government or affairs of the city.”

The purpose of the inquiry was to establish a record of the case rather than to find anyone guilty or innocent.

One of the attorneys representing Garner's family was civil rights lawyer Alvin Bragg, who was then campaigning for Manhattan district attorney, a post he won in November of that year.

Bragg, who successfully prosecuted former President Donald Trump for hush money payments to a porn actor this year, said Carr’s advocacy on behalf of her son inspires him to create a more equal New York City.