She might be Eric Garner’s daughter, but she won’t be part of Garner’s family.
The chokehold victim’s
widow, Esaw Garner, acknowledged Friday that a 16-month-old girl named
Legacy is her husband’s daughter with another woman — but said she wants
nothing to do with the tot or her mother, Jewel Miller.
“As far as her being accepted into our family, that’ll never happen,” Garner told the Daily News when asked about the baby.
Eric Garner had been living with Miller for three years before his
fatal encounter with Officer Daniel Pantaleo in Staten Island last July.
The News reported Friday that a DNA test recently confirmed Miller’s
assertion that Legacy is Garner’s daughter. That puts her in line for
the largest share of any payout the Garner family gets from the city.
“They knew she was his daughter but they didn’t want the public to know
so they could keep up the image of the happily married husband and wife
together which was the farthest thing from the truth,” Miller said
Thursday. “I think it was a public relations thing.”
“And Esaw is just money hungry,” she added.
An angry Esaw Garner kept mostly tight-lipped Friday.
“I know the truth. My kids know the truth,” she said. “We know that’s her baby and fine, that's what she’s entitled to.”
Eric Garner had four biological children with Esaw, ranging in age from 15 to 25.
The family’s lawyer, Jonathan Moore, is preparing a wrongful death suit against the police officers involved in Garner’s death.
A notice of claim — the first step in filing a lawsuit against the city
— filed last year listed Legacy as a potential beneficiary, in addition
to Garner’s children with Esaw.
The filing said the family would seek up to $75 million for Garner’s death.
The 43-year-old was approached by cops who suspected him of selling loose cigarettes on July 17, 2014.
She declined further comment, saying her lawyer had advised her not to talk.
An agitated Garner pleaded with the officers to leave him alone before
Pantaleo brought him to the ground in a department-banned chokehold.
The arrest was captured on video — as were Garner’s repeated cries of, “I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe.”
He died a short time later.
The city medical examiner’s office declared his death a homicide, but a
Staten Island grand jury declined to indict Pantaleo, setting off a
wave of protests across the country.
The death is still under investigation by the Justice Department.
The city has settled other NYPD wrongful death suits for millions of dollars.
Legal experts say Eric Garner’s baby girl stands to get the biggest
share of any settlement or judgment because payout formulas used by the
court are based on life expectancy, and her half-siblings are
significantly older than Legacy.
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