Erica Garner, the daughter of police chokehold victim Eric Garner, is now fighting for her life after suffering a massive heart attack.
Family members provided an update on her condition Wednesday evening after the outspoken activist against police brutality had a heart attack on Dec. 24. New York ABC station WABC confirmed Garner suffered a heart attack over the holiday weekend.
In an update on her verified Twitter page, a family member wrote Wednesday, she "suffered major brain damage from a lack of oxygen while in cardiac arrest. Please continue to pray hard for Erica and pray for her family and kids just as much."
Garner, 27, became an activist
after the death of her father in Staten Island, New York, in 2014. The
elder Garner died after being put in a chokehold by NYPD
officer Daniel Pantaleo after the 43-year-old argued with officers upon
being approached for suspicion of selling loose cigarettes. Chokeholds
are prohibited by the NYPD, and a ruling by the New York City medical
examiner found Eric Garner died due to "compression of neck (choke
hold)." A grand jury in December 2014 decided not to press charges
against Pantaleo. The city later settled with Garner's family for $5.9
million, WABC reported.
Her father's final words, "I can't breathe," were captured on cellphone video and became a rallying cry for protestors against police brutality.
Erica Garner became an outspoken -- and unfiltered -- critic on Twitter. She also appeared in a campaign commercial for Sen. Bernie Sanders during his run for the Democratic nomination for president in 2016. Sanders offered his best wishes to Garner and her family on Tuesday, and praised her activism.
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