“I’m just minding my own business, please leave me alone,” pleaded the innocent father — moments later cops were seen slamming him down, pushing his face into the concrete, and choking him to death.
The widow of the man who died in a police chokehold last month called on prosecutors to take action during a Manhattan rally Saturday that included other family members and the Rev. Al Sharpton.
“I just want them to do the right thing and give me justice for my husband,” said Esaw Garner, referring to Eric Gardner, who died July 17 while being restrained by police.
The group was applauding Friday’s ruling by the city medical examiner that labeled Garner’s death a homicide.
Officer Daniel Pantaleo and another officer tried to arrest Garner, a 6-foot-3, 350-pound father of six, for selling untaxed cigarettes on a Staten Island street.
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Video shot by a passer-by showed Pantaleo, an eight-year NYPD veteran, grabbing Garner, 43, around the neck as he and his partner wrestled him to the ground.
Police rules forbid chokeholds.
Garner was transported to a medical center, where he was pronounced dead.
Medical examiner spokeswoman Julie Bolcer said Friday that Garner died from “the compression of his chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police.”
Asthma and heart disease contributed to his death, she said.
Ramsey Orta, a friend of Garner’s who videotaped his struggle with police, said the medical examiner’s ruling wasn’t surprising.
“I knew that was the cause because I saw it,” he said.
“Now somebody should get charged.”
At Saturday’s rally, Gwen Carr, Garner’s mother, said since her son’s death she has woken up screaming, “Let him go! Give him air!”
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When she heard his death had been ruled a homicide, she said, her first words were, “Thank you, Jesus!”