PANAMA CITY — New York City police held Eric Garner in a chokehold for about 4½ minutes in July as he repeated 11 times the now infamous message that has echoed around the country: “I can’t breath.”
Moments later, EMS would arrive to find Garner dead on the sidewalk.
Since a grand jury decided Dec. 3 not to indict police officer Daniel Pantaleo for Garner’s death, peaceful and hostile protesters have demonstrated in cities throughout the United States.
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More than a dozen members of Panama City’s black community gathered Saturday on the steps of Panama City City Hall to stage a “Die-In” demonstration to promote peace and justice for the country and in their community.
People laid in silence in front of City Hall for about 4½ minutes.
“That is the time it took for him to lose his life,” said Richard Jenkins, one of the demonstration’s organizers. “So that time was detrimental in this case.”
The decision not to indict the officer in Garner’s death came more than a week after officials in Ferguson, Mo., announced that a grand jury would not indict Officer Darren Wilson for the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. The two decisions spawned uproars from black communities and a group called Black Lives Matter.
In addition to raising awareness about police force exerted upon black people, the “Die-In” demonstration was an extension of groups in the Glenwood community and elsewhere dedicated to stopping violence in Panama City.
The most recent victim to gun violence, 29-year-old Cagney Aaron Benson, was found dead in a 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt that was parked and not running at an intersection in the Maharaj Mobile Home Park. He had suffered several gunshot wounds, police said.
Springfield police is continuing its investigate the case.
“We are all passionate about Black Lives Matter,” said Giovanni Morrison, a demonstration organizer. “But that life mattered also.”
Many local demonstrators knew Benson, the latest victim of violence in Panama City this year. Jenkins grew up with Benson and knew several other victims and accused shooters.
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“We’re all close in this community,” Jenkins said. “We know the victims and the shooters, so we lose several of our friends and family members in these tragedies.”
The demonstrators also gathered later in the day at the Glenwood Community Center to discuss plans for Stop the Violence rallies.
“We will keep on until we show that this can’t keep happening day after day,” Jenkins said. “We won’t take no for an answer.”