A Staten Island grand jury declined Wednesday to indict a white New York City police officer in connection with the July chokehold death of an unarmed black man.

Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo, a 29-year-old, eight-year veteran of the force, faced possible charges in the July 17 death of Eric Garner, who was stopped on suspicion of selling loose cigarettes. Video captured Pantaleo using what appeared to be an illegal chokehold on Garner, a 43-year-old father of six with a lengthy criminal record. Garner, who had health problems, died as a result of the encounter.

In the video, Garner can be heard yelling, "I can't breathe!"

Jonathan Moore, an attorney for the victim's family, said he is "astonished by the decision."

In a statement, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday was "a deeply emotional day" and called for any protests to remain peaceful.

President Obama, speaking at the Tribal Nations Conference in Washington after the grand jury's decision was announced, said many minority communities across the United States feel that law enforcement is not working with them "in a fair way."

"We are not going to let up until we see a strengthening of the trust and strengthening of the accountability that exists between our communities and our law enforcement," Obama said.

By mid-afternoon, protests began to bubble up around the city. A Twitter hashtag, #ShutItDown, called on demonstrators to protest Wednesday night's annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center in midtown Manhattan. A "lie-in" was held at the main concourse of Grand Central Station in Manhattan, though MyFoxNY.com reported that protesters were not blocking commuters and no arrests were being made.

'Lie-in' GrandCentral concourse. First of many protests planned in NYC after EricGarner grand jury decision pic.twitter.com/KkOrJmu25H

— Dan Bowens (@danbowensfox5) December 3, 2014

The New York Post reported that angry protesters began to gather outside the shop where Garner died following the announcement of the decision.

“They should react in an uproar. Just like they failed Ferguson, they failed us,” Heather Ewig, 46, told the paper, referring to the protests that erupted in the Missouri city following a decision by a grand jury last week to not indict a white police officer in the shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager.

“You gotta be kidding me!” shouted Linder Hampton, 59, who was wearing a T-shirt with Garner’s last words, “This ends today” and “I can’t breathe," the Post reported.

Garner's family has filed a notice that it plans to sue the city for $75 million on the grounds of wrongful death, pre-death pain and suffering and civil rights violation, The New York Post reported. The Rev. Al Sharpton, who is an adviser to the family, has called for a federal probe.

The grand jury, which consisted of 15 whites and 8 minorities, concluded there was not enough evidence to indict Pantaleo, who faced charges ranging from murder to a lesser offense such as reckless endangerment.

He had been stripped of his gun and badge and placed on desk duty while the case was under investigation, and is likely to remain on modified duty while the NYPD conducts an internal investigation that could result in administrative charges.

While details on the grand jurors were not disclosed, Staten Island is the most politically conservative of the city's five boroughs and home to many police and firefighters. The panel began hearing evidence in late September, including the video, autopsy results and testimony by Pantaleo.

In anticipation of the announcement on the grand jury decision, police officials met with community leaders on Staten Island to head off a repeat of the response in Ferguson, where demonstrations turned violent, resulting in more than 100 arrests and destruction of 12 commercial buildings by fire.

New York City's Police Commissioner William Bratton was asked Sunday if what happened in Ferguson could happen in New York. He said the NYPD has been preparing for months "in multiple ways," including community meetings, and added that he was more concerned with outside agitators.

In the wake of the decision, de Blasio said he would not attend Wednesday's Christmas tree lighting in Rockefeller Center and instead will meet with officials and clergy in Staten Island.

Garner's death comes one day after Bratton and de Blasio touted the continued reduction of crime in New York City, which overall has fallen 4.4 percent from this time a year ago, with homicides falling 6.8 percent from the end of November 2013, according to police statistics.

But Tuesday's news conference also gave the mayor a chance to remind New Yorkers of the changes he's implemented to the NYPD at a time when the relationship between police and communities of color has fallen under an intense spotlight nationwide in the wake of Ferguson and Garner's death.

Later this week, the NYPD will debut a pilot program to equip some officers with body cameras, a reform championed by many who want to monitor police conduct.

And the NYPD's use of stop and frisk, the policy that allows police to stop anyone deemed suspicious but which a federal judge ruled discriminated against blacks and Latinos, has fallen 79 percent in the first three-quarters of 2014.

Fox News' Ben Evansky and The Associated Press contributed to this report

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/12/03/no-indictment-for-nypd-cop-in-chokehold-death-unarmed-man-source-says/