Al Sharpton made the following statement on behalf of the family of Eric Garner after the tragic deaths of two NYPD officers at the hands of a lone gunman, Ismaaiyl Brinsley. The Garner family clearly condemns the loss of life of the two officers, Rafael Ramos, and Wenjian Liu.
“I have spoken to the Garner family and we are outraged by the early reports of the police killed in Brooklyn today, Any use of the names of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, in connection with any violence or killing of police, is reprehensible and against the pursuit of justice in both cases,” Sharpton said.
“We have stressed at every rally and march that anyone engaged in any violence is an enemy to the pursuit of justice for Eric Garner and Michael Brown,” he continued. “We have been criticized at National Action Network for not allowing rhetoric or chanting of violence and would abruptly denounce it at all of our gatherings. The Garner family and I have always stressed that we do not believe that all police are bad, in fact we have stressed that most police are not bad.”