Preachers rail at police in funeral for NYC man who died in custody NEW YORK (Reuters) - Preacher after preacher stepped up to the pulpit at a sweltering Brooklyn church on Wednesday to express fury at the citys police force during the funeral of Eric Garner, who died soon after police put him in a banned chokehold. As hundreds of mourners fanned themselves against the heat, the outrage sparked across New York City by video recordings, which show Garner flat on a sidewalk pleading to the officer gripping his neck that he cannot breathe, was never far from the surface. Officers have been banned from using chokeholds for more than 20 years and the city has said it will investigate why the practice appears to persist. Between bursts of gospel singing, ministers preached loudly and angrily over Garners flower-bedecked white coffin, expressing impatience with promises from Mayor Bill de Blasio and his police commissioner, Bill Bratton, that the training of police officers will be overhauled. Lets not play games with this, Rev. Al Sharpton, the civil rights activist, said halfway through the service at Bethel Baptist Church, thrusting a pointed hand into the air. You dont need no training to stop choking a man saying, I cant breathe! You dont need no cultural orientation to stop choking a man saying, I cant breathe! You need to be prosecuted. View galleryEllisha Flagg, sister of Eric Garner, arrives to attend … Ellisha Flagg (centre, R), sister of Eric Garner, arrives to attend his funeral in New York July 23, … The congregation filled with shouts, applause and amens. Known to his friends as Big E, Garner, 43, had six children and had worked over the years as a mechanic, a nightclub security man and as a gardener for the citys parks department. He was known in his neighborhood for breaking up fights, his friends say. Police say they knew him better for selling out-of-state cigarettes on the street, and were arresting him last Thursday on suspicion of this misdemeanor when they tackled him to the ground during a heated argument. Garner, who had a history of health problems, including asthma, died soon after his body fell limp on the sidewalk. Mayor de Blasio has called Garners death, the cause of which has not yet been determined by the medical examiner, a tragedy. De Blasio was elected last year in part because of his promise to mend frayed relations between the police and New Yorkers, especially the black and Latino men who were stopped and frisked on the street in disproportionate numbers. View galleryGwen Carr, mother of Eric Garner, arrives to attend … Gwen Carr (3rd R), mother of Eric Garner, arrives to attend his funeral in New York July 23, 2014. R … A federal judge declared the way the police department used the practice unconstitutional last year, and ordered a federal monitor to oversee the police. Bratton, the police commissioner, has said he did not think race was a factor in the death of Garner, who was black. But for the Bethel Baptist congregation, it was the centermost factor. We are going to march until we no longer have to come to funerals for this reason, Bishop Victor Brown of Staten Islands Mount Sinai United Christian Church told the cheering congregation. We are going to continue to march until there is drastic reform of the policy of the New York City police department so that when police officers show up in our community we will no longer have to fear for our lives and run from their presence. (The story Corrects paragraph 9 to make clear that it was police use of stop-and-frisk that was ruled unconstitutional)
Posted on: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 18:00:26 +0000
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