Eric Holder To Launch Justice Department Probe Into Death Of Eric Garner

Via The Hill:

Attorney General Eric Holder announced Wednesday night that the federal government is launching a civil rights investigation into the chokehold death of Eric Garner, a black man who was killed by a white police officer in July. A New York grand jury decided earlier in the day that it would not charge the officer. “Our prosecutors will conduct an independent, thorough, fair and expeditious investigation,” the outgoing attorney general said. The Justice Department had been monitoring the case since Garner was killed in July, Holder noted, but waited to initiate a probe until the local investigation concluded. Federal investigators will also review the material used by local law enforcement in the case. Holder said that he had spoken to Garner’s widow, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, and President Obama about the investigation. A statement from Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) indicated that Loretta Lynch, Obama’s nominee to replace Holder and the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, would lead the probe.