Eric Garner’s Mother Pushes Anti-Police Brutality Bill That Would Set National Standard for Excessive Force

On Thursday, Eric Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, testified at the congressional hearing of police misconduct that there has been no accountability for her son’s death by an NYPD officer’s chokehold. Carr pushed for congress members to vote for a new bill that would make choke holds illegal under federal law.  

“No one was held and charged for my son’s death. No recourse. No accountability. The entire family is traumatized each and every time we enter the courtroom,” Carr said as she asked congress to vote on the legislation.

The bill Carr is hoping congress will vote for is called the Excessive use of Force Prevention Act and will be dubbed the “Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold” Bill.

The Garner family, along with Rev. Dr. Al Sharpton, NY State Senator Brian Benjamin and NY State Assemblyman Walter Mosely are expected to introduce the bill on Saturday in Manhattan.

Sharpton said the new bill would set a national standard and “define clearly where the line in terms of excessive force.”

Sharpton said that the new bill is not anti-police but anti-police brutality.

“But even when we stand up when police are killed, we have yet to see police unions stand up one time when one of their officers kill someone in the community unjustifiably,” he said.

“And no one should want bad cops punished more than good cops whose names are speared because people get to choke people on tape, hearing eleven times I can’t breathe.”

During the hearing, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler agreed with Carr that the criminal justice system had failed Eric Garner and his family. Mentioning that the Staten Island grand jury brought no criminal charges against Daniel Pantaleo (the officer that applied the illegal chokehold to Garner) and only fired him. He also mentioned how the Department of Justice also failed to bring charges and how it took the NYPD over 5 years to take any real action against Pantaleo.

In response to Nadler, a spokesperson for Mayor Bill de Blasio, said that “For the first time in five years, we finally have accountability. We hope that brings the Garner family some justice.”