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Eric Garner Protest

Source: STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty / Getty

Eric Garner, whose high-profile death was captured on a cell phone video that helped to spark a national movement against police violence, is buried in an unmarked grave in New Jersey, about a dozen miles from the Staten Island, New York block where he died almost a year ago, according to The New York Daily News.

Garner’s last words, “I can’t breathe,” for a time became the mantra for the #BlackLivesMatter protest movement against excessive force by police, and his image became a symbol for the crusade. Garner died about a year ago after he was placed in a chokehold by a New York Police Department officer trying to arrest him for allegedly selling loose cigarettes on a busy commercial strip.

Instagram Photo

But now, just a day after New York City announced that Garner’s family is poised to accept a record $5.9 million settlement for his death, the News reports that his grave has gone largely “unvisited and unnoticed.” His 23-year-old daughter, Erica Snipes, visited Garner’s graveside on Father’s Day in Linden, New Jersey, notes the News, citing her Instagram post, but that’s about it.

From The News:

“Funny how the Lord works,” she wrote. “How long (has it) been here? What’s so strange is we found it. (I) thought it flew off to someone else’s grave.”

Despite his daughter’s visit, Garner’s grave has been bereft of both flowers and visitors, according to a cemetery caretaker.

“I know who he is,” said the employee, who didn’t want to be named. “Not a lot of people come here, though.”

Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, tells the News the family was raising the $3,000 needed for a bronze grave marker, which should be installed by the end of the month.

SOURCE: The New York Daily News | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty

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Eric Garner’s Unmarked Grave “Unnoticed, Unvisited” After High-Profile Chokehold Death  was originally published on newsone.com