After 2 Years, Probe of Eric Garner Chokehold Death in Limbo

By TOM HAYS AND ERIC TUCKER, ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK — Jul 16, 2016, 2:10 PM ET

Two years after the chokehold death of Eric Garner made "I can't breathe" a rallying cry for protests over police killings of black men, federal authorities are still grappling with whether to prosecute the white officer seen on a widely watched video wrapping his arm around Garner's neck.

The legal limbo is playing out on the watch of Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who has come under persistent pressure in the city and elsewhere to bring Officer Daniel Pantaleo to justice. The New York City case turned out to be a forerunner to a series of videotaped police killings across the country that have fueled outrage and protests.

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A resolution has been hampered by a behind-the-scenes disagreement over the direction of the federal investigation of the Garner's death in Staten Island, according to two people with inside knowledge. On one side are prosecutors in Lynch's former office in Brooklyn, who aren't sure there's enough evidence to charge Pantaelo at the federal level. On the other side are their counterparts in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division in Washington, who feel more confident in forging ahead.

Both people were not authorized to discuss the decision-making process and spoke on condition of anonymity.

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