Bill Clinton on Eric Garner: He 'didn't deserve to die'

NEW YORK, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Former President Bill Clinton recently sat down with Fusion TV's Jorge Ramos, in an interview set to air Tuesday night, in which he weighed in on police violence, racism and the death of Eric Garner.

Clinton, who was in Miami last week for the Clinton Foundation's "Future of the Americas" summit, told Ramos that Garner "didn't deserve to die."

"He was obviously not well, he was overweight and vulnerable therefore had lung problems, heart and lung problems," Clinton said of Garner, an unarmed black man who died after a police officer placed him in an apparent chokehold last July.

"He was doing something he should not have been doing," Clinton added. "That was illegal. He was selling untaxed cigarettes on the street in small volumes, trying to make a little extra money. But he didn't deserve to die because of that."

Garner's death, and a grand jury's decision not to indict the police officer who killed him, sparked nationwide protests earlier this month.

Clinton said the case highlights a continuing "divide that exists between the community and the police."