NEW YORK (AP) — Mayor Bill de Blasio says New Yorkers must move toward unity after the death of a man from an apparent police chokehold.
De Blasio says Friday that Eric Garner’s death last month “grabbed at our hearts” but subsequent tensions should now be in the city’s past.
De Blasio, speaking after a Brooklyn public housing event, called Garner’s death a “turning point moment” and says it has to lead to something better.
The city medical examiner’s office ruled Garner’s July 17 death on Staten Island a homicide caused by a banned chokehold.
Prosecutors are investigating.
De Blasio says he expects Rev. Al Sharpton to be part of a gathering this month of the city’s influential religious leaders.
He says he won’t attend a march Sharpton is planning for the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
