Rep. Peter King thanks grand jury for 'doing justice' in Eric Garner case

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., defended the decision of the Staten Island grand jury not to indict police officer Daniel Pantaleo for putting Eric Garner in a chokehold that resulted in his death.

"Thanks to SI grand jury for doing justice & not yielding to outside pressure," King tweeted Wednesday. "Decision must be respected. Compassion for the Garner family."

In an interview after the decision, he said Garner's death was not due to police misconduct but due to Garner's health status as overweight and asthmatic.

"I feel strongly the police officer should not have been indicted. I have 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, almost definitely he would not have died," he told CNN.

Other politicians reacted to the decision after public outrage flared from the grand jury decision. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., took to Twitter to state his hope for peace and justice despite the decision.

Clearly excessive force against #EricGarner. I pray that peace and justice will prevail.

— Justin Amash (@repjustinamash) December 4, 2014

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said the decision was "a miscarriage of justice, it's an outrage, it's a disgrace, it is a blow to our democracy, and it should shock the conscience of every single American who cares about justice and fair play."

"What more does America need to see to understand we have a problem in this country?" he added.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio reacted to the decision, calling it a "national moment of grief." In an open letter, he cited the need for much more work to be done in matters of civil rights.

Finally, in recent weeks, protesters and activists have adopted a phrase that should never have to be said, but that the stains on our country's history demand we say: Black Lives Matter.

When invoking this refrain, we must be mindful that issues surrounding policing and civil rights are not just an issue for people of color, they're not just a problem for young people, and they're not just a problem for people who get stopped by police. They're a problem for all Americans who care about justice.