Erica Garner, political activist and daughter of Eric Garner, has died at 27, according to a message from her official Twitter account. Garner suffered a heart attack on December 24th, before going into cardiac arrest and suffering brain damage from a lack of oxygen.
"She passed away this morning. The reports are real. We didn't deserve her," read a tweet from Erica's twitter account, which has been providing updates on her condition throughout the week. "When you report this you remember she was human: mother, daughter, sister, aunt. Her heart was bigger than the world. It really really was. She cared when most people wouldn't have. She was good. She only pursued right, no matter what. No one gave her justice."
Erica was an important voice in the fight against police brutality towards people of color. Her father, Eric Garner, was killed by police in 2014 when he was placed in a department-banned chokehold after being approached for selling loose cigarettes. His last words "I Can't Breathe," which can be heard in a video of his killing, became a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement. Garner's death was ruled a homicide, but NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo was not indicted on criminal charges by a grand jury. As his eldest daughter, Erica rose to prominence as an activist following Eric's death.
Erica was the mother of two. She gave birth to a son, who she named Eric, after her father, in August. She also had an eight-year-old daughter. Read the messages from Garner's account below.