Memorial Dedicated to Eric Garner Destroyed by Fire on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Authorities have ruled the fire an accident.

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Complex Original

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A memorial built where Eric Garner died after being choked by an NYPD officer in Staten Island over the summer was destroyed by fire yesterday. A candlelight vigil remembering the 43-year-old on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day had taken place earlier in the evening. 

According to the Huffington Post, the FDNY received a phone call just before 10:30 p.m. last night about the fire. The fire was extinguished by 10:41 p.m., and the FDNY told the Huffington Post that it was "accidental." Garner family spokesperson Cynthia Davis agreed with the findings of the investigation: 


The police department explained to me what happened, said Davis, who works at the National Action Network. She said officers offered to show her surveillance footage of the memorial, which they said showed the memorial suddenly start to smoke. A passersby then saw it burst into flames and called 911.

However, Garner's daughter, Erica, believes the memorial was destroyed deliberately

Garner died last July after being choked by Officer Daniel Pantaleo, and his death was ruled a homicide by the city's medical examiner in August. In December, a Staten Island grand jury decided not to indict Pantaleo.

[via Huffington Post]

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