Eric Garner's family turns down $5m settlement from New York City, says report

It is a year since the unarmed black man was killed by police officers after being placed in a chokehold

(AP Photo/Family photo via National Action Network, File)

A year after he was died after being placed in a chokehold by New York police officers, Eric Garner’s family has reportedly turned down a $5m settlement deal.

A source familiar with ongoing negotiations between New York Comptroller Scott Stringer and the family of the Staten Island man killed by the police, told the New York Daily News that Mr Garner’s widow, , Esaw Garner, turned down the offer last week.

The source said the Garner family’s attorney, Jonathan Moore, is urging the family to accept the $5m and then seek more money through a separate lawsuit against the ambulance team from Richmond University Medical Centre.

The newspaper said the emergency team were captured on video apparently failing to give medical treatment to Mr Garner, 43, as he struggled.

Negotiations are expected to continue until Friday, when a statute of limitations requires the family file a wrongful death lawsuit. The family has said it intends to sue the city for $75m over the death of Mr Garner, who died on July 17 2014.

Negotiations are expected to continue until Friday, when a statute of limitations requires the family file a wrongful death lawsuit. The family has said it intends to sue the city for $75 million.

In December 2014, it was announced that the officers involved in Mr Garner's death would not face criminal charges.

The $5m offer would have been one of the largest wrongful death settlements stemming from a killing by NYPD police.

The death of Mr Garner - one of many black suspects to die at the hands of police across the nation - sparked outcry and protests.