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The death of Eric Garner in New York had catalyzed the #BlackLivesMatter movement against police violence against black Americans.
With our correspondent in New York, Loubna Anaki
" I can not breathe ". " I can not breathe ." These are the last words of Eric Garner. The video of his death went around the world in 2014. It shows the 43-year-old man, violently thrown to the ground by five policemen who had just called him for illegal sale of cigarettes. One of the agents holds him by the neck, a forbidden hold. Obese and asthmatic, Eric Garner loses consciousness and dies.
His death had provoked many demonstrations in the country, and his last words had become one of the slogans of the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
►To read too: After years of mobilization, where are the rights of black Americans ?
After five years of judicial and administrative battle, Daniel Pantaleo, the police officer who had asphyxiated him, was dismissed Monday from the New York police.
Never prosecuted
NYPD chief James O'Neill speaks of a difficult decision. " Today, there are no winners. A father has lost his life. And it's an irreversible tragedy. And a policeman who wanted to serve his family and his community lost his career, "he said.
Daniel Pantaleo was never prosecuted. He had kept his job, but was restricted to office work. His fate weighed in particular on the record of the mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, also presidential candidate and who presents himself as a defender of minorities.
Today, Bill de Blasio believes that justice has been done. But for Eric Garner's family, everything is not over yet. Her daughter said they would continue to fight police abuse so that there is "no more Eric Garner ."