Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement in support of a full investigation of the death of Eric Garner, a resident of Staten Island who died last week when he was placed in a chokehold during an arrest.

The chokehold, a hold derived from the martial arts and intended to prevent normal breathing, has been prohibited by New York Police Department regulations since 1993, though the Civilian Complaint Review Board has received several hundred complaints about chokeholds in recent years. Eric Garner suffered from severe asthma.

“On behalf of the people of the Ninth District of New York and myself, I wish to express my most sincere and heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Eric Garner,” said Congresswoman Clarke. “I am concerned that the practice and use of the ‘choke hold,’ essentially choking people as a means of executing an arrest has continued to occur, despite regulations that prohibit its use by the New York City Police Department. I urge Mayor Bill de Blasio and Commissioner William Bratton to pursue a full and thorough investigation into the death of Eric Garner while in the custody of the NYPD, both to secure justice for the family of Eric Garner and to prevent such incidents from ever occurring again in the future.”

U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the House Committee on Small Business, Ethics, and Homeland Security, where she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies. She represents many neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which include Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.