On Wednesday evening, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio revealed that attorney general Eric Holder promised him a federal investigation into the choking death of Eric Garner at the hands of police – just hours after a Staten Island grand jury declined to indict an NYPD officer for the killing.
“The federal government is clearly engaged and poised to act,” de Blasio said in a press conference. “Just before the meeting began . . . I received a phone call from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch. They made clear that the investigation initiated by the U.S. Attorney would now move forward.”
“There was a palpable sense of resolve [that] the federal government will exercise its responsibilities here and do a full and thorough investigation, and draw conclusions accordingly,” he continued.
De Blasio’s revelation meshes with reporting by the Associated Press, citing a Department of Justice source who claimed a federal investigation into Garner’s death at the hands of NYPD police officer Daniel Pantaleo would move forward.
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