Deadline for charges looms 5 years after Eric Garner’s death

NEW YORK (AP) — Time is running out for federal prosecutors to take action in the 2014 death of Eric Garner, the unarmed black man heard on video crying “I can’t breathe” after a white New York City police officer put him in an apparent chokehold.

The U.S. Justice Department faces a Wednesday deadline to decide whether to file civil rights charges against Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the fatal Staten Island arrest.

Wednesday is the fifth anniversary of Garner’s death and the day a statute of limitations kicks in.

Pantaleo has denied using any inappropriate force in trying to subdue Garner.

A state grand jury cleared him of criminal conduct in 2014, but a federal investigation into the death remains open.

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Associated Press reporters Jim Mustian and Tom Hays contributed to this report.

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Follow Michael Sisak at twitter.com/mikesisak

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