CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Chokehold Case

Interview

BLITZER: We're following the breaking news in New York. No charges for a white New York City police officer accused in the chokehold death of an African-American man. The grand jury's decision sparking some demonstrations in New York City. We've got some new video, pictures coming in from Grand Central Station in New York. People are lying down. They're calling it a "die in." You can see that still photo there at Grand Central Station in Manhattan.

Let's get a different perspective. Republican Congressman Peter King of New York is joining us. Congressman, thanks very much for joining us. What's your reaction to the grand jury decision today?

REP. PETER KING (R), NEW YORK: First of all, the death was tragic and our hearts go out to the Garner family. Having said that, I do not believe - I feel strongly that police officer should not have been indicted. I've been following this case from the start. You had a 350- pound person who was resisting arrest. The police were trying to bring him down as quickly as possible. If he had not had asthma and a heart condition and was so obese, he almost definitely would not have from this. The police had no reason to know that he was in serious condition.

I know people are saying that he said 11 times or seven times "I can't breathe." Well, the fact is if you can't breathe, you can't talk. And if you've ever seen anyone locked up, resisting arrest, and I've seen, it's been white guys, and they're always saying, like you're breaking my arm, you're choking me, you're doing this.

So, police see that all the time. They, in this case, a chokehold was not illegal. It is against department regulations, but as you look carefully, I don't think it was an intent to put him in a chokehold, because he does move the baton as he brings him down.

Also, people are saying very casually this was done out of racial motives or violation of civil rights. There's not a hint there that anyone used any racial epithet. And also, what's not mention is, the senior officer on the spot who was there at the location was an African-American female sergeant. So, I don't know where the racial angle comes in. I have no doubt if that was 350-pound white guy, he would have been treated the same.

The reason the police were there is Tompkinsville is primarily a minority area. The local business people were complaining about Garner who was constantly selling cigarettes outside their establishments and he was creating a problem in the neighborhood. It was at the request of the community, the people in that minority community who went to police headquarters and wanted the police out there to remove him.

So, this was not any attempt by the cops to harass some guy selling cigarettes. It was a request of the community that it be done. This was a minority community, and it was struggling business people trying to make a living.

BLITZER: Chokeholds, I'm told, they are banned by the New York City Police Department, Congressman. So, I guess a lot of the question is, why isn't the police officer in this particular case, Daniel Pantaleo, being held accountable if in fact he did engage in that chokehold?

KING: First of all, it's not illegal, it's against departmental policy. So, that, it's nothing to do with committing a crime. Secondly, there's a debate whether that was a chokehold because he do not seem to sustain the baton at the Adam's apple, and as he's bringing him down, it moved to the right.

And again, I don't think there's any indication that they intended to choke him, that that was intentional. You have a 350-pound guy who is resisting, and he's six or seven inches taller than you, you try to grab him where you can and bring him down. When he was on the ground, I just heard somebody before said they beat him. Nobody punched him, nobody kicked him. They tried to get his hands behind his back and a hand cuff.

You talk to any cop, the toughest thing to do is cuff someone that doesn't want to be handcuffed. So, to me, remember, they didn't know this was being videoed. Yet, there's no individual of racial remarks, there's no attempt to kick of punch him. All they tried to do was cuff him. And to do that, you have to subdue someone and hold them quiet.

BLITZER: Because the allegation is that he was selling cigarettes without tax. That's a relatively -- that's a pretty minor crime. So the question is, was it excessive force to go and try to apprehend him with all these police officers surrounding him and using that kind of force?

KING: First of all, he wasn't going to go. Once the police try to arrest someone and they resist, you have to arrest him. You can't have a community see someone being able to walk away from an arrest. The cops have to establish themselves.

And again, this was -- they were there at the request of the minority business owners in the community who felt this man was interfering with their business. So, they were there serving a purpose for the local community.

And again, he was resisting arrest. Once he started resist arrest, they had no choice but to try to bring him down. I don't think there's any evidence at all, any indication that they wanted to choke him or they wanted to kill him or cause any severe harm at all.

BLITZER: Is it appropriate that Eric Holder, the attorney general of the United States, is about to formally announce a federal Justice Department investigation into what happened?

KING: I don't see how there's any civil rights violation here. I think it should be kept in mind, Wolf, that no one has done more to save the lives of young African-Americans than the NYPD. There are thousands of young African-Americans alive today because white and black police officers put their lives on the line every day, going into the toughest neighborhoods to protect them.

It's been -- again, in the last 20 years, there's been a 70 percent, 80 percent reduction in murders, and the overwhelming majority of those murders have been committed against African-Americans. That's been reduced, and that should be brought out and made clear.

The greatest beneficiaries of the NYPD are the African-American community. And President Obama, if he's serious about trying to bring racial peace to this country, the last thing he should be doing is having Al Sharpton sit in the White House. When he says that people in the African-American community don't trust the police, one of the reasons is because agitators like Al Sharpton are constantly criticizing and attacking and denouncing the police before he has any idea what the facts are.

BLITZER: All right. Peter King, the congressman from New York, the son of a police officer, himself grew up in New York, so it's obviously a subject that hits right at home to this United States congressman -- thanks very much for joining us.

KING: Thank you, Wolf.

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