Martin Luther King III calls for nationwide chokehold ban after announcement of no federal charges in Eric Garner case

Martin Luther King III called for a nationwide ban on police chokeholds after the Justice Department decided not to charge a New York police officer in the death of Eric Garner in 2014.

“I am profoundly disappointed that Attorney General William Barr has decided that there will be no accountability for the police responsible for the death of Eric Garner, who was killed five years ago, even though there is video footage of grossly excessive force being used against Mr. Garner,” King said in a statement.

Garner died in July 2014 after Officer Daniel Pantaleo placed him in a headlock while attempting to arrest him for selling untaxed cigarettes. A medical examiner later ruled that Garner died from an asthma attack brought on by a chokehold. Chokeholds are officially against NYPD policy.

{mosads}“I join with the Garner family and people of good will everywhere in deploring this unjust decision, which further devalues the lives of African American citizens, as well as the principle of color-blind law enforcement, which is so critical for our nation,” King added.

King also called for a nationwide ban on chokeholds by law enforcement and several other reforms, including heavier screening of police applicants to check for “propensity for violence and racism,” body cameras on all street-level law enforcement and more independent review commissions for local departments.

Garner repeated “I can’t breathe” several times before he died, which became a rallying cry within the Black Lives Matter movement.

The official announcement Tuesday that Pantaleo would face no federal criminal or civil rights charges prompted condemnation from several Democratic presidential candidates, as well as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Garner’s mother Gwen Carr.

“You think it’s swept under the rug? No! It’s not going to be swept under the rug. Because, I’m out here. You all know my face. You’re going to see it even more now,” Carr said in a Tuesday press conference.