By Mustafa Caglayan with additional reporting by M. Bilal Kenasari in Washington
NEW YORK
A New York grand jury declined Wednesday to file criminal charges against a white police officer for using an illegal chokehold that contributed to the death of an unarmed black man.
Protests erupted in New York City as about 400 demonstrators marched through midtown Manhattan into Times Square, where dozens of additional police had been already deployed.
Another group of protesters marched in the evening toward Harlem, an historic hub for New York’s black community.
At approximately 11 p.m., as many as 200 demonstrators marched through 42th Street and attempted to block entry to the Lincoln Tunnel that connects midtown Manhattan with New Jersey, prompting police to briefly close one of the tunnel’s three tubes.
The New York decision comes on the heels of a Missouri grand jury's decision last week’s not to prosecute another white officer in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teen in Ferguson.
In July, the city’s medical examiner ruled that 43-year-old Eric Garner died of a homicide, after being placed in a chokehold by police officer Daniel Pantaleo, who accused Garner of selling illegal cigarettes outside of a Staten Island store.
This new ruling is expected to add to the already high tensions on New York City streets, which has seen demonstrations almost every day since the Missouri decision.
In the wake of Garner’s death, the Rev. Al Sharpton led a rally on Staten Island in August that was attended by thousands.
The civil rights activist on Wednesday called for a national march in Washington on Dec. 13.
"We have no confidence in local state prosecutions because state prosecutors work hand in hand with the local police," Sharpton said during a press conference at his National Action Network headquarters in Harlem.
Appearing with the veteran activist were Eric Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, and widow, Esaw Garner, who said they would keep on fighting for the rights of the slain man.
The police officer at the center of the controversial ruling issued a statement Wednesday that voiced sympathy for Garner's death..
"It is never my intention to harm anyone and I feel very bad about the death of Mr. Garner. My family and I include him and his family in our prayers and I hope that they will accept my personal condolences for their loss," read Pantaleo’s statement, according to NBCNewYork.com.
When asked whether she accepts Pantaleo's condolences, Garner's wife responded with a curt, “Hell no!”
Meanwhile, the New York Civil Liberties Union said the grand jury’s decision underscored a need for wholesome reform of the New York Police Department, or NYPD.
“The failure of the Staten Island grand jury to file an indictment in the killing of Eric Garner leaves New Yorkers with an inescapable question: How will the NYPD hold the officers involved accountable for his death?,” said Donna Lieberman, the organization’s executive director.
The group, which is the New York chapter of American Civil Liberties Union, announced that it would hold a demonstration Thursday in Manhattan.
Following the grand jury’s announcement, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the Justice Department would launch a federal probe into Garner’s death.
“All lives must be valued, all lives,” he said as he described Garner's death as a tragedy.
President Barack Obama also weighed, saying that the decision in New York "speaks to the larger issues" debated for decades in the country.
"This is an American problem. When anybody in this country is not being treated equally under the law, that’s a problem. And it’s my job as president to help solve it," Obama said at the close of a conference at the White House.
Protests also erupted in the streets of Washington, with hundreds of demonstrators shut down parts of the downtown area of the nation' capital for more than two hours to protest “police violence” against black people.
Protesters also gathered near the White House but police there managed to block entrances to the White House to stop protesters from getting close to the building.
Demonstrators marched in the downtown area for more than two hours under police control and were able to shut town traffic.
Carrying signs that read, “I can’t breath” and “Stop white supremacy,” they riled against perceived inequalities in the justice system and demanded justice for Eric Garner.
In a video uploaded to the Internet a day after he was killed, Garner, who was an asthmatic, was heard shouting "I can't breathe," while Pantaleo, was seen placing him in a chokehold. The maneuver is banned by the city’s police department.
Garner's death that was ruled a homicide, was caused by "the compression of his chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police," according to the medical examiner’s autopsy.
Along with the Aug. 9 shooting of 18-year-old unarmed black teen Michael Brown by white police officer Darren Wilson, Garner's death ignited a debate about race relations and police brutality across the United States.
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