“Was there any intent by the officers to kill Garner? “
Not necessary for manslaughter or negligent homicide.
“Did the “chokehold” kill Garner, or did his pre-existing health conditions kill him? “
also not necessary. The Coroner ruled the decedent died from a injuries caused by the cops.
“If not, would use of the “chokehold” have been reckless?”
The use of that hold is proscribed by the NYC PD. The cop violated published procedure. End of story.
“Was the use of the “chokehold” reasonable use of force rather than excessive use of force?”
NYC PD policy already covers this. See above.
I think there was probable cause for some form of manslaughter. The office has him in his custody. He employed a prohibited choke hold. The finding in his death had already been found to not from natural causes by the coroner. The Grand Jury had probable cause.
A jury could have found that there was not enough proof for manslaughter based upon the wording of the law but it was not proper action by the officer and a man died.
“The Coroner ruled the decedent died from a injuries caused by the cops.”
Here is what the medical examiner actually stated: “On August 1, 2014, city medical examiners concluded that Garner was killed by neck compression from the chokehold along with “the compression of his chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police”. Asthma, heart disease and obesity were contributing factors.”
You might want to read more about what a true choke hold is here:
http://www.leelofland.com/wordpress/eric-garner-death-by-chokehold-maybe-not/
The article says it wasn’t a choke hold, but a sleeper hold. The autopsy showed no damage to his windpipe.
If the family sues for wrongful death, I suspect they will win. It would only require a preponderance of the evidence showing insufficient care was taken during the arrest to keep the guy alive. If the officers unintentionally acted in a way that caused the death, and it was not force justified by the dead man, then I think they should win.