Watch American Trial: The Eric Garner Story

Join us in watching the virtual theatrical release of American Trial: The Eric Garner story. We will be hosting a live stream event with Q&A featuring CBS' Michelle Miller on Thursday, May 21st. 

American Trial: The Eric Garner Story is an unscripted, hybrid fiction-documentary about the case that never happened. A mock trial with the real players (with the exception of the actor who plays Pantaleo), the film depicts the trial that would have followed Garner’s death had Pantaleo been indicted. In the pursuit of accuracy, balance, and unbiased accountability, the film uses former New York State prosecutors, real attorneys, and actual witnesses, all to present to the jury – in this case, the audience - the facts necessary to determine Pantaleo's guilt or innocence. No script. Only real people and real testimonies in a courtroom setting through a cinematic lens.

On July 17, 2014, in NYC, NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo placed Eric Garner in a chokehold while attempting to take him into custody for selling ‘loosies’ (loose cigarettes without a tax mark), As Pantaleo and other officers wrestled Garner to the ground, he repeated 11 times that he could not breathe. Garner was pronounced dead at an area hospital shortly after the incident. The autopsy report later determined compression to the neck and chest as the cause of death and categorized the death as a homicide. A cell phone video documenting the entire incident went viral, sparking nationwide protests. His dying words, "I can't breathe" became a rallying cry, and demonstrations and media debates intensified when a grand jury failed to indict Pantaleo for any crime. Those demonstrations ultimately led to changes in policing practices across the U.S.

Watch here: https://watch.eventive.org/americantrial/play/5eb04665205b78004b5925ab

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