Rev. Al Sharpton Tuesday said that the $5.9 million settlement to the family of Eric Garner is not justice.
“Money is not justice,” Sharpton said at a rally according to the local affiliate of CBS. “Money is a recognition of the loss of the family. But it does not deal with the criminal and other wrongs done to this family and other families.”
Sharpton has been a vocal proponent for paying reparations for past slavery in America. And he has been criticized more recently by Garner’s family for caring too much about money, with Garner’s eldest daughter Erica Snipes caught on camera saying, “He [Sharpton] is about this,” while making a hand motion to signal money.
The record-high settlement was charged against Daniel Pantaleo, the police officer who put Garner, a black man, in a chokehold in 2014 that resulted in his death. Garner was heard shouting that he couldn’t breathe as he was wrestled to the ground. The incident made national headlines and sparked a debate on police using excessive force and institutional racism. Clarifying his earlier comment, Sharpton noted that it is up to the family to decide whether the settlement is enough.
“Settlements are based on what the parties think the loss is,” Sharpton told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “They said they want a federal investigation.”
Sharpton has built a career on advocating for civil rights and racial injustice. But while being secretly filmed by Project Veritas, Garner’s daughter seemed to accuse Sharpton of exploiting her father’s death. When the video was released, however, she denied accusing Sharpton of greed, according to the New York Post.
“Al Sharpton paid for the funeral. She’s trying to make me feel like I owe them,” she had said on camera.
“No, I didn’t say that I think Al Sharpton is all about the money,” she backtracked to the Post.
According to Mediaite, Sharpton and his organizations have been accused of accepting a significant payment to look the other way in a racial discrimination case involving companies including Comcast and Time Warner Cable. Sharpton called the accusation “ludicrous” and untruthful.
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