Two years ago Sunday, a Staten Island man, Eric Garner, died after being placed in a chokehold by police. His death helped to fuel a national debate about race and police, and it has turned one woman into an advocate for police reform: his mom. Staten Island reporter Amanda Farinacci reports.
In a sea of people protesting alleged police brutality, it's easy to recognize Gwen Carr. She's photographed and interviewed often, but says the subject of those interviews remains difficult to talk about: the death of her son, Eric Garner.
"People ask me if the pain has gotten any better. It really hasn't gotten better," Carr said. "It's just that I choose to motivate it in a different way. I choose to turn my pain into a purpose."
Eric Garner, a 43-year-old father of six, died two years ago this Sunday from a police chokehold. When a Staten Island grand jury decided there was not enough evidence to charge police in Garner's death, mass protests erupted across the country.
Carr has been at the center of many protests and an advocate for police reform, roles that have not come naturally for the retired train conductor.
"In the beginning, when I first was asked to speak, I didn't know what I was going to say, how I was going to say it, what I should say. So then after a while, I just said what I felt," Carr said.
"I look at what happened to my son and I wouldn't want that to happen to anyone else if I could prevent it. So I speak out for those who didn't get press, who had very little press. I speak out for those, the nameless, the faceless."
Carr has also aligned herself with other black women who have lost children in clashes with the police to push for special prosecutors to investigate such cases. She's also joined them in supporting Hillary Clinton for president, appearing in an ad, after Clinton reached out to her following her son’s death.
"I feel like she endorsed us before we endorsed her," Carr said of Clinton.
Carr has helped to form a foundation in Eric Garner's honor to stop mass incarceration and to promote healing between police and the community. It hopes to become a registered charity by the end of the year.