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Mourners mark second anniversary of Eric Garner’s death

Posted at 7:56 PM, Jul 17, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-17 19:56:22-04

NEW YORK (AP) — Dozens of people have gathered in New Jersey to mark the second anniversary of the death of Eric Garner, whose chokehold death became a rallying cry for protests over police killings of black men.

Garner’s mother joined the Rev. Al Sharpton and the mothers of more than a dozen other men killed by police officers Sunday morning at a church in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

Garner died July 17, 2014, after repeatedly calling out “I can’t breathe” as police officers pinned him down in Staten Island, New York. Authorities say he had been accused of illegally peddling cigarettes on a street.

A New York grand jury declined to indict an officer seen on video apparently holding Garner in a chokehold. A federal civil rights probe is still ongoing.