Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. To Open Federal Civil Rights Investigation Into Eric Garner's Death. President Obama Speaks (Video)

Video After The Jump

The Washington Post reports that Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. will be opening a federal civil rights investigation into the death of Eric Garner. This follows a Staten Island, New York grand jury's decision not to indict NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo on Wednesday, December 3. Pantaleo used a chokehold banned by the New York Police Department to subdue Garner on July 17, when officers were attempting to arrest him for selling loose cigarettes.

Eric Holder

Garner repeatedly yelled "I can't breathe" after being taken to the ground by several officers. He later died.

The death was ruled a homicide by the medical examiner's office. It was determined that Garner died from "compression of neck (chokehold), compression of chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police."

Officer Daniel Pantaleo (left) used an illegal chokehold to subdue Eric Garner, contributing to his death.

During a news conference on Wednesday, December 3, President Obama addressed the grand jury's decision.

"We are not going to let up until we see a strengthening of the trust, and a strengthening of the accountability that exists between our communities and our law enforcement," he said. "[Eric Garner's death reflects] concern on the part of too many minority communities that law enforcement is not working with them, and dealing with them in a fair way."