WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Eric Holder says the Justice Department has been in touch with the family of a New York City man who died in police custody after an officer placed him in an apparent chokehold.
In a statement Friday, Holder called the death of Eric Garner “tragic” and said the Justice Department was “closely monitoring” the city’s investigation.
A funeral service was held Friday for Garner. He died last week on Staten Island.
An amateur video shows a plainclothes police officer placing him in what appears be a chokehold. Autopsy results are pending.
Police had suspected Garner of selling loose, untaxed cigarettes on the street.
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