Description
A black person with a sign covering their eyes that reads, "I am not a threat". Next to it, a protester with an afro and fist rasied, in a yellow shirt and a mask. Five panels depicting the faces of: Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice, Philando Castile and George Floyd.
Subject
Eric Garner (September 15, 1970 - July 17, 2014) was a 43-year-old Black American father of six and grandfather of three from the Staten Island borough of New York City. On July 17, 2014, at 3:30 p.m., Garner was approached by plainclothes New York City Police Officer Justin D'Amico on the streets of Tompkinsville, Staten Island, where D’Amico proceeded to accuse Garner of selling individual cigarettes in violation of New York state law. After a brief confrontation, Garner was placed in an illegal chokehold by Officer Daniel Pantaleo. While pinned down by multiple officers, Garner repeated the words "I can't breathe" 11 times while lying face down on the sidewalk. Once unconscious, Garner was left on the sidewalk for seven minutes before receiving Emergency Medical Services care, who upon their arrival failed to place Garner on oxygen or administer any emergency medical aid with any sense of urgency. Garner was pronounced dead one hour later at a hospital. The following December, a Richmond County grand jury failed to indict Pantaleo. In 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice elected to not bring criminal charges against Pantaleo under federal civil rights laws. Pantaleo was fired on August 19, 2019, over five years after Garner's death.
Breonna Taylor (June 5, 1993 - March 13, 2020) was an EMT and aspiring nurse. The 26-year-old Black American woman from Louisville, Kentucky who was fatally shot in her apartment on March 13, 2020, by plainclothes Louisville Metro Police Officers. A grand jury did not indict the officers for her death.
Tamir Rice (June 15, 2002 - November 22, 2014) was a 12-year-old Black American boy from Cleveland, Ohio. On November 22, 2014, the child was playing with a replica toy gun at the Cudell Recreation Center in Cleveland when a caller reported his behavior to police dispatch. Upon their arrival, Cleveland Police Officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback failed to deescalate the situation and panicked. Loehmann fired two shots almost immediately, one striking Rice in the torso. The child died from his injuries the following day, November 23, 2014. A grand jury declined to indict the officers for Rice’s murder, but a lawsuit brought against the city of Cleveland by Rice's family was settled for $6 million.
Philando Castile (July 16, 1983 - July 6, 2016) was a 32-year-old Black American man who was driving with his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and her four-year-old daughter on the night of July 6, 2016, in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. At 9:00 p.m., Castile was pulled over by St. Anthony Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez, and advised the officer that there was a gun in the car that Castile was licensed to carry. The situation rapidly escalated, with Yanez panicking and firing seven close-range shots at Castile, hitting him five times. Reynolds posted a livestream video to Facebook immediately after the shooting, in which her young child attempts to comfort her in the background. Castile died of his wounds at 9:37 p.m. at Hennepin County Medical Center.
George Perry Floyd (October 14, 1973 - May 25, 2020) was a 46-year-old Black American man who was murdered by former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin after Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly 9 minutes in the Powderhorn neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25, 2020. Floyd’s murder sparked an international movement for Black Lives Matter, the largest civil rights movement of the century. On March 12, 2021, the city of Minneapolis agreed to pay $27 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Floyd's family. On June 25, 2021, Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison for his crimes.