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At first I am joined by Eric Garner's two children, Eric and Erica.
Thank you both for being here.
We really appreciate it, cuz I know it's probably been
a very tough night and day for, for both of you.
And very tough time since July when your dad passed away.
And Erica, what was your reaction to the grand jury's decision yesterday?
I mean, It's not, it wasn't really shock.
After the Ferguson, indictment, I mean, it's like, I expected it to,
to come out this way, but I was hoping it was gonna be different.
I was disappointed, very disappointed and, it's still, like,.
Why?
You know?
You, you seen him die on national TV just like everybody else.
Why? You know?
And Eric, what about you?
Well, I had, I had faith for
six months that the Grand Jury would make a decision indicting the cop but.
This last six months been very hard.
You know.
We just had faith that they'd make a decision on that video
that showed everybody.
And it's just been hard.
Just the last couple hours.
Just living with that decision.
How's your mom doing?
You all, there's five kids in the family?
Yes. How are your siblings doing?
Your mom? And I know your grandmother has also.
Then speaking out about this.
They been, they been doing good.
Well, not good but-
They just been doing.
They been, you know, just, just focused on,
you know, justice, you know, fighting.
You know, sticking together, staying strong.
You know they, you know, my mother.
That was her husband.
That was the love of her life for
27 years and, you know, my grandmother, that was her first born.
So, it's like, how, how do you expect them to feel?
Like, they're, they're, they're hurting but,
then again, they're trying to keep us strong as being his kids.
Well, tell us about, tell us a little bit about your dad because,
it seems to me, you know,.
So many people have seen that video, but
very few people know much about him.
What kind of father he was, what kind of person he was.
How would you describe him, Eric?
Well, he was like my best friend.
Like, we had, like I'm going to miss every little arguments we had.
Like the little arguments count.
Like fighting over the the TV Playstation TV, cuz he's a football fan,
he loved the New York Giants.
But I'm a basketballer so
we used to sit there and he'd have a remote in his hand and
I'd have a remote in my hand and my mother would scream from her room like.
Yeah, I need to grow up.
I need to grow up.
All right. You're gonna miss stuff like that.
And me entering college this year, I was looking forward for
him to be at every game.
Your, your play, are you playing basketball in college?
Yes.
Where were you in school?
Exeter County.
Community College.
You know?
I was really looking forward to it and being in it this season.
Especially for his first games.
You know, his first basketball games.
Especially for his first games.
I mean, my dad, he was the hands on type of father, you know?
He was always late, but, [LAUGH] He was always, But, yeah.
He was late, but he came at the right time!
So many people have taken to the streets of New York and
congregated in many different areas holding signs, saying I can't breathe,
or signs that have your dad's name on them.
Looking at that, it's like, oh my god.
Like, they, they out there and they.
Feel what I'm feeling right now.
They, they going through it just like I'm going through it.
But the support, the amount of people, the, the signs with my father's name
on it, the chanting, it's, like, Yes, my father's voice is being heard.
Yes, yes, yes, please.
And it's like, you know?
Why are you ignoring this?
Why did they ignore this?
So. Eric is an african american young man.
What has your experience been like with the police department?
Well, not with the police department cuz one of my coaches.
He's a, a cop and like,
it's like the good cops get overlooked by the bad cops and stuff.
Have you ever felt unfairly targeted or harassed?
yeah, about being in the park late.
Putting up shots, not bothering nobody.
Cops will come in, they be like, get out before you get a summons.
Stuff like that.
And what, what have you all learned from this whole experience this whole
terrible experience.
Losing your dad, and then seeing, seeing things unfold as they have?
Well what I learned from it, like.
It's still going on, from history,
from back in the Martin Luther King days, and the civil rights movements.
And the Abner Louima cases that done passed, and the Antony Bias.
It's like.
Is still, well, it's like, you know,
what's, what it's gonna take for a change to happen?
What is it gonna?
Like, obviously a video, a video of, of my father dying on a sidewalk.
There's so many blogs and news that came out about his death, but.
We seen the video and I already knew from the video that he was gone.
It was sad.
It was horrific.
It was terrifying but I just wanted to look at the video and
just, just learn, like, who, who, who did what.
Who, who was around him?
Like, why, I, I can't, I can't answer why they didn't, help him.
But that's my question, why, why EMS didn't, didn't help him if their,
if their job is to save the, save, you know, people.
And I feel like they treated him like an animal.
An animal. And my father wasn't an animal.
Even though he was 350 pounds and 6-6.
He wasn't an animal he was a big teddy bear.
He was lovable, loved by everybody that he came in contact with.
Like- Helped a lot.
In this video, in this video in the beginning of this video all you see him
is just being so tired, like, just, oh my god, why are you bothering me?
Like what did I do now?
Like you keep on bothering me like.
You know, when is, when is it gonna stop like, you know?
I'm tired of goin', I'm tired of going to court.
I'm tired of just you keep on arrestin' me and for this little thing.
For cigarettes.
Not even drugs, guns, knives, robbery.
That he was runnin' away and then the.
And then the resistance of arrest that they talking about, it's, like-
I don't see no resistance.
I don't see no resistance.
Hands up. Hands up.
They didn't read him his rights.
They put him on the ground.
They mussed his face in the ground.
I mean, what more do these, just, secret grand jury need to really.
Indict him.
Before your dad was put on,
put in a chokehold he was talking about being harassed.
And he said, it stops today.
Are, are you at all optimistic that we,
we've reached some kind of tipping point in this conversation, or
do you think that this will be a focal point, and then people will move on.
I think you can't move on.
I, I wanted.
In that situation.
I wanted to, to, to, the conversation to keep going.
I don't want it to stop.
It's just like a lot of people you know they see a headline.
And then they read about it for a couple of days and
then they see another headline and forget about what was in the last thing.
My message now is, like, we're not gonna stop.
We don't care how many cameras is there or not.
Me and my family are gonna stand strong, keep on protesting, keep on,
you know, fighting the good fight for justice.
That's, that's all.
Like, that's all me and my family want.
We a big family.
And we, we, we, we stick together.
We're strong.
And Eric, what do you think can be done?
You know, you talk about your coach.
Uh-huh.
And that he is a good police officer, and
that sometimes the good police officers get overshadowed by the bad ones.
I mean, what do you think can be done to, to weed out those who may be.
Are abusive?
By the other cops sticking up for our country and pointing them out.
Basically what he saying is, he want the good officers,
if you see your off, your, your coworker acting in,
in a, in a way that you know that is wrong.
Be a, a bigger man.
Be, be, be, be, a leader and say, you know what?
This is wrong.
Let me, let me stop this, 'cuz there was too many people out there,
too many officers, too many sergeants or
supervisors out there to prevent my father from dying on that corner.
So basically, you know, we want,
you know, we want people to, to come together, to come together as one,
and stand as one, and, like, you know, do the right thing.
You know right from wrong.
So do what's right.
Do what's right.
Well, I really appreciate you both stopping by to talk with us.
Cuz I know, as I said, it's a very difficult time for you and your family.
Erica and Eric, thank you both so much, we appreciate it