[moehoward]

"...manslaughter in the death of Eric Garner? In a word, intent."

Intent is not a requirement for an involuntary manslaughter charge. Which is what occurred.

[chris37]

No, it isn’t because you cannot prove that any action of the police CAUSED his death.

[kiryandil]

The DA only asked grand jurors to consider manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide charges - but left "reckless endangerment" off the table, as reported here:

Staten Island DA Daniel Donovan didn’t include reckless endangerment charge as option to Eric Garner grand jury: WNBC
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/nypd-commissioner-bill-bratton-defends-de-blasio-article-1.2034559