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ERIC GARNER'S FAMILY REACTS TO GRAND JURY'S DECISION

Presented byABC News Channel 7

Thursday, December 04, 2014 10:42AMNEW YORK (WABC) --The widow of Eric Garner said that from the beginning she's had no faith in prosecutors on Staten Island, the borough where a police officer placed her unarmed husband in a chokehold that resulted in his death.

Esaw Garner said in an interview Thursday on NBC's "Today" "there was no sincerity from day one" from Staten Island police or the district attorney.

"Honestly, I think from the beginning I had no faith in Staten Island prosecutors ... I didn't have any kind of encouragement, I felt no remorse, I felt no compassion, no anything from Staten Island besides the people on Staten Island. But as far as the police and the DA, there was no sincerity from day one," Garner's widow, Esaw Garner, said in the interview.

A grand jury on Wednesday decided not to bring any charges against the officer involved. Garner said she hasn't had any kind of encouragement, remorse or compassion from the borough's authorities.

The grand jury's decision prompted protests across the country and sent thousands onto New York's streets, where they marched, chanted and blocked traffic. Police say 83 people were arrested.

The Garner family spoke out alongside the Rev. Al Sharpton on Wednesday night, and members shared their heartbreak and severe disappointment about the grand jury's decision not to indict the officer that killed Garner.

Garner's mother, Gwen Carr, said the grand jury decision "just tore me up." She said she's "truly disappointed" but called on protesters to rally peacefully.

"I couldn't see how a grand jury could vote and say there was no probable cause," she said. "What were they looking at? Were they looking at the same video the rest of the world was looking at?"

In his first public comments, Pantaleo said he prays for Garner's family and hopes they accept his condolences.

"I became a police officer to help people and to protect those who can't protect themselves," he said in the statement. "It is never my intention to harm anyone, and I feel very bad about the death of Mr. Garner."

When a reporter asked Esaw Garner if she accepted the officer's apology, she said she would not.

"Hell no! The time for remorse would have been when my husband was yelling to breathe, that would have been the time for him to show some type of remorse, or some type of care for another human being's life, when he was screaming 11 times that he can't breathe. So there is nothing that him or his prayers or his anything else would make me feel any different. No, I don't accept his apology, no, I could care less about his condolences, no, I could care less. He's still working, he's still getting a paycheck, he's still feeding his kids, and my husband is 6 feet under and I'm looking for a way to feed my kids now," Garner said.

The family described shock at the grand jury's refusal to indict Pantaleo, but still begged protesters to stay calm.

"Yeah, we want you to rally, but rally in peace. Make a statement, but make it in peace. Do what you have to, but do it in peace," Carr said.

Sharpton also announced that a march against police brutality will be held next weekend Dec. 13 in Washington, DC. The march will be led by the parents of Michael Brown of Ferguson, MO., and Esaw Garner.

Eric Garner's family reacts to grand jury's decision not to indict officer
Eric Garner's family spoke out alongside the Rev. Al Sharpton on Wednesday night. They shared their heartbreak and severe disappointment about the grand jury's decision not to indict the officer that killed Garner.