"She passed away this morning. The reports are real. We didn't deserve her," said a statement posted to her official Twitter account
NEW YORK — Erica Garner, an activist and the oldest daughter of a New York City man who was killed by a police chokehold, died Saturday, according to a statement posted on her official Twitter account. She was 27.
The Twitter account, run by her family and friends since she became ill, asked that she be remembered as a mother, daughter, sister and aunt with a heart « bigger than the world. »
Garner was hospitalized in critical condition earlier this month after suffering a heart attack. Her mother, Esaw Snipes-Garner, had said her daughter’s cardiac arrest was triggered by an asthma attack.
Snipes-Garner said her daughter suffered her first heart attack not long after giving birth to a baby boy in August. Doctors said the pregnancy had put a strain on her heart, which was later found to be enlarged.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, in announcing Garner’s death Saturday, said she fought for justice and was « a warrior to the end. » She died in a New York hospital.
Garner became a vocal advocate against police brutality following the death of her father, Eric Garner, a Black Lives Matter icon. He died after a white police officer put him in a chokehold while arresting him on Staten Island in July 2014. A video of the arrest showed him gasping for air and repeatedly saying, « I can’t breathe. » A grand jury declined to charge the officer, Daniel Pantaleo. The family later reached a $5.9 million settlement with the city.
