Eric Garner Memorial Burned Down On MLK Day, Daughter Reacts
A Eric Garner memorial in Staten Island was burned down Monday evening.
The memorial, which included beautiful flowers and well-arranged candles, was located at the site of Garner’s controversial death last year.
Using Twitter, Eric Garner’s daughter, Erica, posted pictures of the memorial to her father – before and after it was burned down on the same day that the nation honored Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday.
In one of the “before” pictures, Erica Garner mentions that she was just there at the Eric Garner memorial site hours before her grandfather arrived and discovered the damage.
Just was therea couple of hours ago.cops drove pass my grandpa when he arrived to see the damege #anonymousopferguson pic.twitter.com/5ycP96t9QW
— officialERICA GARNER (@es_snipes) January 20, 2015
In response to what happened to the Eric Garner memorial, Erica expressed herself through a Twitter rant and did not hold anything back.
“Evil set my dad’s [memorial] on fire tonight, but can’t erase his legacy. Rebuild 2morrow… Its just grows [sic] to show how much evil is in the world.”
Erica also posted a tweet asking God to forgive the people that burned down the Eric Garner memorial. She also expressed how that experience reminded her about what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. went through.
lord forgive these evil ppl who burned down POPS memorial this is really sick my struggle still cont.#anonymouopfurguson #OpICantBreathe — officialERICA GARNER (@es_snipes) January 20, 2015
first my father gave now his memorial burning it reminds me of crosses being burnt infront of mlk hse!!#anonymousopfurguson #OpICantBreathe
— officialERICA GARNER (@es_snipes) January 20, 2015
In another tweeted message, Erica asks if someone can investigate further into the burning of the Eric Garner memorial to determine who is accountable for the act of suspected arson. Earlier the same day, Erica Garner spoke at the Four-Mile March on behalf of her family, asking fellow New Yorkers to support her vigils scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday. The Justice Committee posted a picture on its official Twitter page of Erica Garner speaking to the crowd.
Daughter of #EricGarner @es_snipes speaks at #4MileMarch/asked NYers to support her vigils Tues&Thurs #ThisStopsToday pic.twitter.com/l5KTKYugk0 — Justice Committee (@watchthecops) January 19, 2015
Eric Garner died on July 17, 2014 shortly after being placed in a chokehold by officer Daniel Pantaleo. The police officers were trying to arrest Garner on suspicion of selling single cigarettes, or “loosies,” without any tax stamps.
After he removed his arm from around Eric Garner’s neck, Pantaleo reportedly pushed his head into the ground while several other officers assisted in restraining him. Garner repeated “I can’t breathe” numerous times before losing consciousness and later being pronounced dead.
In December, a grand jury decided to not indict the police officer even though Garner’s death was ruled a homicide by the medical examiner. The decision led to public protests and rallies, including the silent protests of celebrities wearing “I Can’t Breathe” T-shirts.
Before being burned down, the Eric Garner memorial was visited by many people – including close friends and members of the Garner family – since his passing to show their respect.
