--- title: Bill Clinton: Eric Garner ‘Didn’t Deserve to Die’ description: “He was selling untaxed cigarettes on the street in small volumes, trying to make a little extra money." canonical: https://time.com/3635608/bill-clinton-eric-garner/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-16T13:53:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:40:40.959Z article:section: Politics og:title: Bill Clinton: Eric Garner ‘Didn’t Deserve to Die’ og:description: “He was selling untaxed cigarettes on the street in small volumes, trying to make a little extra money." og:url: https://time.com/3635608/bill-clinton-eric-garner/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd315bb1757859582/69876f11e53aba113e4d691d/bill-clinton1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: The Thelonius Monk Jazz Trumpet Competition And All Star Gala Concert og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bill Clinton: Eric Garner ‘Didn’t Deserve to Die’ twitter:description: “He was selling untaxed cigarettes on the street in small volumes, trying to make a little extra money." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd315bb1757859582/69876f11e53aba113e4d691d/bill-clinton1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Bill Clinton Says Eric Garner ‘Didn’t Deserve to Die’ > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=1d6e6c26-d21c-4c40-8c74-f21ff00c76da&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Behind the Video of a Deadly Confrontation With Police [Watch (HLS stream): Behind the Video of a Deadly Confrontation With Police](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QGZo2z1Q.m3u8) (3:49)  _Published 2014-07-22. TIME interviews the man who captured a fatal incident between Eric Garner and NYPD officers_ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Dec 16, 2014 1:53 PM UTC  Bill Clinton speaks onstage during The Thelonius Monk Jazz Trumpet Competition and All Star Gala concert held at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. on Nov. 9, 2014. Bill Clinton speaks onstage during The Thelonius Monk Jazz Trumpet Competition and All Star Gala concert held at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. on Nov. 9, 2014. Michael Tran—FilmMagic/Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Dec 16, 2014 1:53 PM UTC Former President Bill Clinton is set to address the Eric Garner case in a Tuesday interview with cable TV channel [_Fusion_](http://fusion.net/video/34031/bill-clinton-on-eric-garner-he-didnt-deserve-to-die/), saying that the unarmed black man from Staten Island, N.Y. did not deserve to die for allegedly selling cigarettes on the street. “He was doing something he should not have been doing. That was illegal,” Clinton said during the interview. “He was selling untaxed cigarettes on the street in small volumes, trying to make a little extra money. But he didn’t deserve to die because of that.” Clinton spoke to _Fusion_ during the Clinton Foundation’s “[Future of the Americas](http://futureoftheamericas.org)” summit in Miami last week. Protests have continued in the days since a New York City grand jury opted not to indict a white police officer who subdued Garner in what appeared to be a chokehold, leading to his eventual death. The officer, Daniel Pantaleo, has denied using a chokehold. **Read more** [Selma Cast and Crew Wear ‘I Can’t Breathe’ Shirts to New York Premiere](http://time.com/3633484/selma-movie-i-cant-breathe-shirts/) Over the weekend, thousands of protestors took to the streets in Washington, D.C. and New York to show their discontent with the way police often treat brown and black people. Clinton added there are “preconceptions wired into us and we have got to get beyond them,” when talking about race relations in America. The full interview is set to air on Tuesday at 10p.m. \[[_Fusion_](http://fusion.net/video/34031/bill-clinton-on-eric-garner-he-didnt-deserve-to-die/)\] ### Witness Protesters Taking Over the Streets After the Eric Garner Grand Jury Decision  A group of protesters rally against a grand jury's decision not to indict the police officer involved in the death of Eric Garner occupy the eastbound traffic lanes of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City in the early morning hours of Dec. 4, 2014. Jason DeCrow—AP  Protestors block 15th Street near Pennsylvania Avenue to protest the Staten Island grand jury's decision not to indict officer Daniel Pantaleo in the Eric Garner chokehold case in Washington on Dec. 3, 2014. Jim Lo Scalzo—EPA  Demonstrators march through the streets of New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Andrew Burton—Getty Images  Regina Bates speaks during a demonstration in Oakland, Calif. on Dec. 3, 2014. Elijah Nouvelage—Getty Images  Police stand guard on the West Side highway as protesters block traffic in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Shannon Stapleton—Reuters  Anwar Thurston, 36, joined demonstrators who gathered to protest the Eric Garner grand jury decision during a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at City Hall in Philadelphia on Dec. 3, 2014. Mark Makela—Getty Images  A demonstrator cries while gathering to protest the Eric Garner grand jury decision during a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at City Hall in Philadelphia on Dec. 3, 2014. Mark Makela—Getty Images  Demonstrators block traffic on Highway I-395 in Washington on Dec. 3, 2014. T.J. Kirkpatrick—Getty Images  Protestors lay down in Grand Central Station during a protest in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Timothy A. Clary—AFP/Getty Images  People take part in a protest against the grand jury decision on the death of Eric Garner in midtown Manhattan in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Eric Thayer—Reuters  Protesters raise their arms and chant at police officers in Times Square in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Caitlin Ochs—Polaris  Demonstrators march in protest on the streets of St. Louis on Dec. 3, 2014. Michael B. Thomas—AFP/Getty Images  Police officers block protesters from marching up a highway entrance ramp near Times Square in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Seth Wenig—AP  A man holding a child walks with protesters as they march past Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Adrees Latif—Reuters  Atlanta Police face off with protesters blocking Spring Street in Atlanta on Dec. 3, 2014. Erik S. Lesser—EPA  A demonstrator stands next to a makeshift memorial where Eric Garner died during an arrest in July in the Staten Island borough of New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Shannon Stapleton—Reuters _Read next:_ [_Poll: 57% of Americans Say Grand Jury Wrong Not to Indict Cop in Garner Case_](http://time.com/3624982/poll-americans-eric-garner-grand-jury/?xid=time%5Freadnext) ## Transcript [ CROSSTALK ] This guy right here is forcibly trying to lock somebody up for breaking up a fight. Everybody is standing here. And i didn't do nothing. A fight actually broke out and everyone jumped up and separated the fight. Told them to go across the street and the officer's arrived on the scene. Basically let the two guy's that were fighting walk off. And kept all the attention on Eric. Please just leave me alone. I told you for the last time, please leave me alone . >> ??? I didn't sell anything. I did nothing, I was sitting here the whole time minding my business. Who did I sell cigarettes to? To who? Not that red shirt, you know the guy in the red shirt? How can you say you, you see me sell a cigarette and all I did was break up a fight. What it doesn't matter just because you said I did it, I did it? Well I did it. Saw you pull it our of your bag. My bag, I don't got no bag! From there two seconds later, the sirens were heard. Well, when he grabbed him by his neck, he pulled back to try to bring him to the ground, [ INAUDIBLE ] and within all that time the guy was still. Around his neck. Put your hands behind your head. I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe. Then he pushed his head into the floor twice, and then put his knee in his face while Eric was telling him he couldn't breathe. And I seen his eyes roll back and he was foaming from the mouth. And I knew he was gone from there. [ yelling ]. [ crosstalk ]. I kept telling them, try to push the issue like put an oxygen mask on him. And all they did was leave the cuffs on him and search him. I felt that they treated him wrong even after the fact that they had him contained. You watched everything, you know everything. That [ beep ] jumped out at him for breaking up a fight. He was like the neighborhood, like the neighborhood dad. Everybody loved him. The old people, the young people. They not supposed to put people in chokeholds. [ INAUDIBLE ] [ NOISE ] Stop resisting. [ INAUDIBLE ] Shut the up you hear me. [ INAUDIBLE ] You see that, they're like- Stop. Shut up. I've been harassed by cops since this happened. Anything like just don't interact physically. Just pull out a camera and that's all people need. Not only New Yorkers getting abused by police. It's everywhere. I just hope it gives people the courage to not be scared of these people cuz it's a lot of he said she said. 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