After 2 years, probe of Eric Garner chokehold death in limbo

NEW YORK (AP) — Two years after the chokehold death of Eric Garner made "I can't breathe" a rallying cry for protests over police killings of black men, federal authorities are still grappling with whether to prosecute the white officer seen on a widely watched video wrapping his arm around Garner's neck.

Before becoming attorney general, Lynch ran the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn, which initiated the review of Garner's case after a state grand jury refused to indict Pantaleo in 2014, and she personally met with Garner's family in that role.

Garner's siblings performed on a rap song called "I Can't Breathe" that was released to mark the second anniversary of his July 17, 2014, death, and his mother, Gwen Carr, has proposed converting a small park across the street from where he died into a playground named after him.

A resolution has been hampered by a behind-the-scenes disagreement over the direction of the federal investigation of the Garner's death in Staten Island, according to two people with inside knowledge.

Internal Justice Department disputes about the strength of such cases happen "more often than you think," said David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor in Miami who specialized in civil rights matters.

The officer remains on desk duty as the New York Police Department awaits the outcome of the federal probe before deciding whether to discipline him on its own.