TOMPKINSVILLE — Dozens of people marched through the streets of St. George and Tompkinsville Monday night to mark the one-year anniversary since Eric Garner died in a confrontation with police.
The marchers — who included Garner's daughter Erica Garner — started at the St. George Ferry Terminal and blocked traffic on Richmond Terrace as they wound through the side streets of St. George before ending in the spot where Garner was stopped by police on July 17, 2014.
"It's been almost a year and we're still out here," his daughter said. "I would never think that I would be out speaking like this but this pushed me into my activism."
On Monday night, Comptroller Scott Stringer announced that the city had reached a pre-settlement agreement of $5.9 million. Garner's relatives had filed a wrongful death notice of claim indicating they intended to seek $75 million.
Speaking in front of a memorial set up for her father at 202 Bay St., Erica Garner said that the settlement could not bring back her father.
"No amount of money is going to heal our pain," she said. "We're just in search of justice."
Eric Garner, 43, an asthmatic father of six and former city worker, died after police placed him in a chokehold while trying to arrest him on charges of selling untaxed cigarettes on a Staten Island street.
Video shot by Ramsey Orta, who won a New York Press Club award for the footage, shows NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo wrestle Garner to the ground as he repeatedly pleads "I can't breathe" to police.
The medical examiner later ruled his death a homicide by chokehold. In December, a grand jury declined to indict Pantaleo for the death of Eric Garner.
