Rev. Al Sharpton to Host Birthday Rally for Eric Garner

TOMPKINSVILLE — The family of Eric Garner will mark what would have been his 44th birthday with a rally at the place he died.

Relatives of the father of six, who died after he was put in an apparent chokehold while being arrested for allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes in July, will hold a memorial birthday celebration for Garner at Victory Boulevard and Bay Street, where Garner was arrested.

The memorial rally, which will be attended by the Rev. Al Sharpton, starts at noon and will continue until sundown, a spokeswoman for the National Action Network (NAN) said.

The memorial will follow a trip to Sharpton's office in Harlem at 9:50 a.m. on Saturday, a NAN spokeswoman said.

At his memorial service in July, Garner was remembered as a family man who enjoyed working on cars and going on trips to Coney Island with his 90-year-old aunt.

Garner's death was ruled a homicide by the city's medical examiner. It sparked waves of protests and demands for justice in the borough and District Attorney Dan Donovan plans to bring the case in front of a grand jury.

His death also led the Civilian Complaint Review Board to review chokehold complaints against the NYPD received in the past five years.

On Wednesday, CCRB head Richard Emery said the audit yielded a "troubling" number of of prior complaints against NYPD officers accused of using chokeholds during arrests.