Following a Grand Jury decision not to bring charges against Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the choking death of Eric Garner, the Justice Department has advised that an investigation will now be launched on a federal level via a statement released by U.S. District Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta Lynch:
“Since the death of Eric Garner in July, our office has monitored this case carefully. At the outset, informed by prior experience and in keeping with the standard practice in these types of cases in New York, the local investigation proceeded first. As the Attorney General explained earlier tonight, because the local investigation has come to a close, the Justice Department will now move forward with its own independent inquiry to determine whether federal civil rights laws have been violated. The investigation will be conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. The investigation will be fair and thorough, and it will be conducted as expeditiously as possible.”