Staten Island street named for Eric Garner 8 years after his death
NEW YORK -- A Staten Island street has been named for Eric Garner, who died after an NYPD officer put him in a chokehold during an arrest.
There were cheers as the sign reading "Eric Garner Way" was unveiled Saturday. The sign on Bay Street can be found on the block where Garner died in 2014.
Sunday will mark eight years since Garner's death.
Gwen Carr, Garner's mother, says she thought the street renaming would never happen.
"I prayed for this day for eight years, and now it's come to pass. We haven't gotten fully justice, but this is a step in the right direction," she said.
Garner was 43 years old when he died.
Officers had been ordered to arrest him for selling cigarettes.
The officer who put Garner in the chokehold, which was banned by the police department, was fired by the NYPD. A grand jury and the U.S. Department of Justice both declined to bring criminal charges against that officer.