Statement on a Staten Island grand jury deciding not to indict a New York Police Department officer in the death of Eric Garner

Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-Calif.), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement after a Staten Island grand jury did not indict New York Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo after the chokehold death of Eric Garner:

"The decision by the Staten Island grand jury not to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo simply outrages me. This decision makes me wonder what evidence is necessary for a grand jury to indict a law enforcement officer for killing unarmed citizens. A video clearly showed that New York Police Officer Pantaleo used a prohibited chokehold against Eric Garner, who was on the ground with one hand behind his back and with four officers holding him down.  The New York City medical examiner's office even confirmed that the violent chokehold—a maneuver prohibited by New York City’s police department since 1993—killed him. I do not understand how they could conclude that a prohibited lethal chokehold on an unarmed man who is subdued by five officers is not a crime.

"Many police departments around the country have banned chokeholds. This officer should have known better and should be held accountable. Our laws are nothing but words on a piece of paper if law enforcement officers can ignore them and kill people with impunity.

"We are a nation of laws, and law enforcement officers take an oath to take a higher standard. At a minimum, laws need to be applied equally to both law enforcement officers and civilians alike.”