A federal grand jury is hearing evidence in the racially charged 2014 chokehold killing by police of Eric Garner while prosecutors rush to get an indictment before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated, the New York Post reported.
Federal prosecutors are seeking civil rights charges against white officer Daniel Pantaleo for using a banned chokehold during Garner's arrest for selling loose cigarettes.
But Garner supporters fear the case will fade away if Trump's nominee for Attorney General, Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, is confirmed for the job at a Senate Judiciary Committee vote Jan. 24, the Post reported.
A grand jury in the New York City borough of Staten Island declined to bring criminal charges in the death, and then-Brooklyn Attorney Loretta Lynch took on the case. The proceedings were never completed amid squabbling between federal officials in Brooklyn and Washington.
Garner's death and final words, "I can't breathe," became a rallying cry for protests led by Black Lives Matter, the Post reported.
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