Following the announcement Wednesday that a Staten Island grand jury declined to indict the NYPD officer who placed Eric Garner in a fatal chokehold, Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that Garner would not have died if he hadn’t been so “obese.”
“If he had not had asthma and a heart condition and was so obese, almost definitely he would not have died from this,” King said. “The police had no reason to know he was in serious condition.”
The city’s medical examiner ruled Garner’s death a homicide and attributed it to the use of a chokehold by officer Daniel Pantaleo. Garner had repeatedly exclaimed “I can’t breathe” during the arrest, as seen in the video recorded by bystanders. Nevertheless, King questioned whether Garner had pleaded for help, telling Blitzer, “The fact is, if you can’t breathe, you can’t talk.” He added: “I have no doubt if that was a 350-pound white guy, he would have been treated the same.”
King also suggested recently that President Obama invite Darren Wilson to the White House to thank the former Ferguson police officer for doing his job.
(h/t Mediaite)
