--- description: A special grand jury will be convened to determine whether or not to charge police officers in the July chokehold death Eric Garner. title: Eric Garner Death: Prosecutor Calls Special Grand Jury image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc06a3bc001ae1c34/6986a013e53abadfa84d410e/452593324.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Grand Jury to Be Convened in Eric Garner Chokehold Death by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 19, 2014 4:03 PM CUT  People and relatives attend the funeral ceremony of Eric Garner who died after NYPD cops put him in a banned chokehold. People and relatives attend the funeral ceremony of Eric Garner who died after NYPD cops put him in a banned chokehold.Anadolu Agency/Getty Images by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 19, 2014 4:03 PM CUT A special grand jury will be convened to determine whether or not to charge police officers in the July chokehold death of a Staten Island man, District Attorney Daniel Donovan [announced Tuesday.](http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/08/district%5Fattorney%5Fwill%5Fconvene.html "undefined") A [cellphone video of the incident](http://time.com/3016326/eric-garner-video-police-chokehold-death/ "undefined") shows deceased Eric Garner, 43, saying “I can’t breathe” after a New York Police Department officer later identified as Daniel Pantaleo placed him in a chokehold. Such a move is banned by the NYPD although permitted under state law. Officers were attempting to arrest Garner on suspicions of selling single cigarettes outside of a store. The medical examiner’s office ruled [Garner’s death a homicide.](http://time.com/3071288/eric-garner-chokehold-death-nypd-medical-examiner/ "undefined") “I have determined that it is appropriate to present evidence regarding the circumstances of \[Eric Garner’s\] death to a Richmond County Grand Jury,” said a statement released by Donovan’s office to [SILive](http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/08/district%5Fattorney%5Fwill%5Fconvene.html "undefined"). “Yesterday, the Court granted my application for the impaneling of an additional Grand Jury and I intend to utilize that Grand Jury sometime next month to begin presenting evidence on this matter.” The special grand jury would have to unanimously vote to indict either Pantaleo or another officer. No witnesses have been named. \[[_SILive_](http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/08/district%5Fattorney%5Fwill%5Fconvene.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3144812/eric-garner-chokehold-grand-jury/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3144812/eric-garner-chokehold-grand-jury/"},"headline":"Grand Jury to Be Convened in Eric Garner Chokehold Death","datePublished":"2014-08-19T16:03:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:44:50.252Z","description":"Eric Garner died after being placed in a chokehold by police last month","url":"https://time.com/3144812/eric-garner-chokehold-grand-jury/","keywords":["Crime","Death","Eric Garner"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc06a3bc001ae1c34/6986a013e53abadfa84d410e/452593324.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc06a3bc001ae1c34/6986a013e53abadfa84d410e/452593324.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"People and relatives attend the funeral ceremony of Eric Garner who died after NYPD cops put him in a banned chokehold,","caption":"People and relatives attend the funeral ceremony of Eric Garner who died after NYPD cops put him in a banned chokehold,","creditText":"Anadolu Agency/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3144812/eric-garner-chokehold-grand-jury/","name":"Grand Jury to Be Convened in Eric Garner Chokehold Death"}}]}] ```