纽约爆发示威,反对扼喉事件裁决

Protests erupted throughout New York City Wednesday in reaction to a grand jury\'s decision not to indict a while police officer in the chokehold death of an unarmed black man in July.

Scores of people marched through the city\'s iconic Times Square hours after the decision was announced.  The large crowds prompted police to block access to nearby Rockefeller Plaza, where a traditional Christmas tree lighting ceremony was scheduled to take place.  Dozens of protesters lay on the floor of Grand Central Terminal and staged a silent so-called "die-in" demonstration.

In an incident captured by a pedestrian on his smartphone video recorder, 43-year-old Eric Garner was arguing with several New York city police officers who were arresting him for allegedly selling loose cigarettes.  After several minutes, Officer Daniel Pantaleo grabbed Garner from behind in a chokehold and forced him to the sidewalk. 

The heavyset Garner, who had asthma, was heard repeatedly gasping, "I can\'t breathe!\'\'  The medical examiner ruled Garner\'s death a homicide as a result of the chokehold, a procedure which was banned by the New York Police Department in 1993.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced late Wednesday that he is opening a federal civil rights investigation into Garner’s death, a move that Garner’s family and activists have called for in recent months.

The decision not to indict Daniel Pantaleo comes less than two weeks after a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri, declined to indict a white officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager during a street confrontation.

President Barack Obama reacted swiftly to the grand jury decision, saying it underscores the frustrations many African-Americans feel "that law enforcement is not working with them and dealing with them in a fair way."

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio called this a “deeply emotional day” for the Garner family and all New Yorkers, acknowledging that many people do not agree with the grand jury’s decision.

这一决定宣布后，很多人在具有标志性的纽约时报广场游行示威。由于示威者众多，警方封锁了附近洛克菲勒广场的入口。按照预定计划，传统的点亮圣诞树仪式将在洛克菲勒广场举行。数十名抗议者躺在中央火车站，举行所谓“扮死”示威。

一名路人用手机录像拍摄了事件的经过。当时43岁的埃里克•加纳与几名纽约市警察发生争执，警察要逮捕据称非法贩卖零散香烟的加纳。几分钟后，警官丹尼尔•潘塔莱奥从加纳身后扼住他的喉咙，把他拖向人行道。

身体肥胖的加纳患有气喘病，从录像中可以听到他反复说“我喘不过气来”。医学检查结果显示，加纳死于警察的扼喉动作，纽约警察局1993年决定禁止使用这一手段。

美国司法部长霍尔德星期三晚间宣布，将对加纳死亡事件开展联邦民权调查，加纳的家人和活动人士近几个月来一直呼吁采取这一行动。

不到两星期前，密苏里州弗格森市的一个大陪审团决定，不起诉在一次街头对峙中开枪打死一名黑人青年的白人警官。

美国总统奥巴马对大陪审团的裁决迅速作出反应。他说，这凸显了很多非洲裔美国人感到的沮丧，他们认为“执法机构不与他们合作，用不公正的方式对待他们。”

纽约市长白思豪说，这对加纳的家人和对全体纽约人是“极为伤感的一天”。他承认很多人会不服大陪审团的裁决。