Activist Erica Garner is currently in a coma after suffering a heart attack on Saturday.
The 27-year-old activist was hospitalized on the night of Saturday, Dec. 23, during an asthma episode that caused a heart attack. According to ABC News, Erica is currently in a coma. In a phone interview with the same news outlet, Erica's mother revealed that her daughter's heart condition was discovered after she gave birth in August. Mrs. Garner has refused to reveal where Erica was hospitalized.
Erica is the daughter of the 43-year-old African American Eric Garner who unfortunately passed away because of alleged "police brutality."
Eric was approached by New York Police Department (NYPD) officers in Staten Island on July 17, 2014, as he was suspected of selling cigarettes without proper tax stamps. After Eric told the police that he was tired of being harassed and denied selling untaxed cigarettes, NYPD officers went on to arrest him.
As he was being arrested, Eric allegedly fought back against the NYPD officers, resulting in one of the police officers putting his arms around Eric's neck, performing a "chokehold" that was originally not permitted by the New York City police department. Eric was restrained facing the pavement and was held down despite the fact that he repeatedly shouted that he could not breathe. Eric eventually lost consciousness.
Officers and emergency medical technicians on the scene did not give Eric cardiopulmonary resuscitation as they believed that Eric was still breathing. Eric was brought to the hospital an hour later, but he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Eric's death was ruled a homicide, but the NYPD did not indict the officer who performed the chokehold, which spurred massive protests in New York and sparked rage within activist groups. Soon after, Erica joined the Black Lives Matter movement. The Garner family and the city of New York reached an out-of-court settlement, with the city paying the family $5.9 million, reports CNN.
There is no news so far regarding Erica's current state.
