Staten Island Grand Jury Declines to Indict NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo in Chokehold Death of Eric Garner

BREAKING … NYC grand jury clears NYPD cop in the chokehold death of Eric Garner …

A Staten Island grand jury voted a “no-bill” and dismissed all charges against NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the choke-hold death of Eric Garner. Coming off the racially charged Ferguson, Mo grand jury “no-bill” vote, this could get really ugly. Eric Garner, while being arrested on July 17, 2014 for selling “loose” untaxed cigarettes died after being placed in a chokehold by Daniel Pantaleo.  Hopefully the reaction to this with protests will be peaceful. One of the reasons why the protests might be more peaceful than what we saw in Ferguson, MO is because the MSM and race merchants were too busy focusing on Ferguson and not this one.

A Staten Island grand jury cleared an NYPD cop in the chokehold death of Eric Garner during his caught-on-video arrest for peddling loose cigarettes, the Staten Island district attorney confirmed Wednesday.

The panel voted a “no-bill” and dismissed all potential charges against Officer Daniel Pantaleo.

The blockbuster decision capped weeks of investigation by the special grand jury, which was empaneled in September specifically to review evidence in Garner’s racially charged death.

In a statement released by his union, Pantaleo said: “I became a police officer to help people and to protect those who can’t protect themselves.”

“It is never my intention to harm anyone and I feel very bad about the death of Mr. Garner,” he added.

“My family and I include him and his family in our prayers and I hope that they will accept my personal condolences for their loss.”

Honestly, I have to admit I did not know that selling individual cigarettes was a crime.

UPDATE I: From PJ Media, this answers my question about the criminalization of selling loose cigs.

An FDA rule issued on June 22, 2010 — well within the Obama era, under a president who has unleashed bureaucracy on the entire country — mandates that individual cigarettes cannot be sold without their original packaging. You must not sell an unhealthy product that everyone knows is unhealthy unless it’s still in the polluting box that it originally came in.

If you sell cigarettes, you must comply with the following bullet points. Note the bold.

Check photo ID of everyone appearing under age 27 who attempts to purchase cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, or smokeless tobacco.
Only sell cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, and smokeless tobacco to anyone age 18 or older. **
Only sell cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, and smokeless tobacco in a direct, face-to-face exchange. ***
Do NOT break open cigarette or smokeless tobacco packages to sell products in smaller amounts.
Do NOT sell cigarette packages containing fewer than 20 cigarettes.
Do NOT sell single cigarettes, also called “loosies”.
Do NOT give away free samples of cigarettes.
Do NOT give away free samples of smokeless tobacco except from a “qualified adult-only facility.”
Do NOT sell flavored cigarettes or flavored cigarette tobacco (other than menthol).

* This is only a summary of the laws. For the full list of federal laws, visit: www.fda.gov/BreakTheChain.