Besides which they are not supposed to use chokeholds.
I am actually unsure about this one too. I have seen the video and I am not sure if this was within the law. However, maybe the prosecutors were going for too high a charge? I don’t know the details.
If an individual is in a choke hold, they are not able to speak simply because they are being choked. It is clear in the video that Mr Garner is 1) resisting arrest and 2) speaking “I cant breath”.
From the video, I see 4 to 5 people (most appear to be officers) on him (he is a big guy at 400+ lbs) and I believe that this is what is contributing to his inability to breath.