ST. GEORGE — District Attorney Dan Donovan isn't worried that the hotly-protested decision not to a charge a police officer for shooting an unarmed teen in Ferguson, Mo. will affect the Eric Garner case.
Speaking after an unrelated press conference Thursday, Donovan said he was sorry some of the protests over the decision not to indict officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown turned violent.
But he said he wasn't worried the decision would affect the outcome of a grand jury that's currently hearing evidence on the chokehold death of Garner.
"I have no worries at all," Donovan said. "The grand jury spoke. I'm sorry to see that some of the violence is occurring there."
At a rally attended by seven people on Staten Island Thursday, Garner's mother Gwen Carr said she was worried her son's case would have a similar outcome to Brown's, but tried to remain positive.
"It sort of makes me worried," she said. "I'm just keeping my faith. At least we do have a video."
The decision not to indict Wilson sparked waves of protests across the country.
Last week, the officer at the center of Garner's death, Daniel Pantaleo, testified in front of a grand jury on Staten Island, DNAinfo New York first reported.
Pantaleo spent hours telling his story to the 23-member panel and insisted that he did not use a chokehold, which is barred by the NYPD, on Garner.
Garner died while being arrested for selling untaxed cigarettes in Tompkinsville. Video of the arrest shows him being held down by police as he says numerous time "I can't breathe."
The medical examiner ruled Garner's death a homicide by chokehold with his asthma, obesity and other health problems contributing.
Rev. Al Sharpton criticized the grand jury on Staten Island for taking too long on the case, and Carr hoped their decision would give justice for her son's death.
"I'm just counting on the grand jury to do the right thing," she said. "It's hard. It's like a recurring nightmare every time I think about that video [but] at least a nightmare you wake up from."
Speaking at an unrelated press conference in The Bronx on Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio called the violence in Ferguson a "sad day in America."
The mayor said he chooses not to link the deaths of Garner, Brown and Akai Gurley, an unarmed man who was shot by police in a Brooklyn stairwell Friday, as some have done.
"The individual incidents are tragic," and should be investigated and adjudicated, said de Blasio.
"But the heart of the matter is are we changing how we do things? In this city we are changing the way we do things. We have a lot more work to do," he added.
Jeff Mays contributed reporting.
