The prosecutor in the chokehold death case of Eric Garner didn't ask a grand jury to consider a lesser charge of reckless endangerment against the white police officer seen in a cellphone video taking down the black man last July 17, an NBC affiliate reports.
NBC 4 New York reports Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan only asked the panel to look at manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide charges against police officer Daniel Pantaleo.
The grand jury on Wednesday decided not to indict the officer, setting off protests in New York and cities across the country. In Friday night protests in New York, marchers conducted massive "die-ins" at Macy's in Herald Square and at Grand Central Station.
It's not clear why Donovan left the lesser charge off the table, and he has said strict confidentiality laws surrounding grand jury proceedings prevent him from discussing the details of the case, the NBC affiliate reports.
The network affiliate noted Donovan has asked the court for authorization to publicly release elements of the proceedings; so far the only information released has been the number of exhibits the jurors saw, how long they heard evidence and how many witnesses they heard it from.
The police department says an internal review of the case is ongoing; the Department of Justice also said it's investigating.
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