Cummings’ Statement on Grand Jury Decision in Staten Island, NY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

BALTIMORE, MD (Dec. 3, 2014) — Today, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (MD-07) released the following statement after a grand jury in Staten Island, NY announced a decision not to charge police officer Daniel Pantaleo in the death of unarmed Eric Garner in July of this year:

“My heart aches for the Garner family and for an entire community that feels justice has not been served after another Black man’s death at the hands of law enforcement.

“We know that Officer Pantaleo used a chokehold banned by the New York Police Department specifically because of the risk it poses; that a medical examiner ruled that Mr. Garner’s death was a homicide; and that a video exists documenting the entire confrontation, including Mr. Garner’s desperate last breaths.

“Given what we know, it’s difficult to understand how an arrest over allegations of illegally sold cigarettes had to result in Mr. Garner’s death.

“Our justice system is plagued by police forces disconnected from the communities they serve. The result is entire portions of the population that feel threatened by the very law enforcement officials charged with their safety. Steps like body cameras will be helpful in beginning to address these systemic problems, but with cases like Mr. Garner’s, it is increasingly clear that the solutions will require us to reconsider our entire approach.  We have to think more broadly and deeply about the changes we have to make in our system, and now is the time to act on those changes.”

Following the shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown by Ferguson, MO police officer Darren Wilson in August, Cummings joined members of the Congressional Black Caucus and more than 100 civic, corporate, and faith leaders in sending a letter to President Obama calling for drastic changes in police training and accountability. Click here to read that letter.