STATEN ISLAND — The federal probe into the death of Eric Garner during an arrest by NYPD officers has been stalled by disagreements from prosecutors on how to move forward with the case, the New York Times reported.
As the second anniversary of Garner's death nears, the investigation into it has been delayed over arguments between federal prosecutors in Brooklyn and Washington on how, or whether, to move forward with the probe, the Times reported.
Unnamed law enforcement officials told the paper that prosecutors in the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn said they don't think they could prove that NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo committed a crime when he put Garner in a chokehold during an arrest on July 17, 2014.
However, the Times reported lawyers in the civil rights division of the Justice Department believe they have enough evidence to prove Pantaleo acted willfully in Garner's death.
Garner, 43, died after he was arrested while allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes on a Tompkinsville street.
Cellphone video of the arrest shows Pantaleo putting Garner into a chokehold and dragging him to the ground while the asthmatic father of six pleads "I can't breathe" numerous times.
Garner's last words became a rallying cry for protestors against police brutality nationwide and his family released a song titled after them over the weekend to commemorate the second anniversary.
In December 2014, a Staten Island grand jury ruled not to indict Pantaleo for Garner's death and Attorney General Eric Holder announced a day later the federal government will investigate the case.
Legal experts told DNAinfo New York at the time that a federal indictment was unlikely because police officers are given a leeway when “acting under the cover of their job."
Earlier this year, a NYPD sergeant at the scene of Garner's arrest, Kizzy Adonis, was hit with disciplinary charges, though his daughter Erica Garner slammed the decision because she claimed Adonis was the only officer who tried to save her father's life.
