Civil rights leaders decry decision in NYC chokehold case

NEW YORK (AP) -- Civil rights leaders Thursday decried the grand jury decision not to charge a white police officer in the chokehold death of a black man and announced plans for a march and a summit on racial justice in Washington later this month.<br /> <br /> National Urban League President Marc Morial said the lack of an indictment in the death of Eric Garner was "a travesty of justice." He said he and other civil rights leaders are calling for 2015 to be "a year for justice and jobs."<br /> <br /> The decision Wednesday not to bring charges against Officer Daniel Pantaleo triggered protests around the country and sent thousands into New York's streets, where they marched, chanted and blocked traffic. Police said 83 people were arrested, mostly on disorderly conduct charges.<br /> <br /> Pataleo's lawyer and police union officials argued that the grand jury got it right, saying that the officer used an authorized takedown move - not a banned chokehold - against a man who was resisting arrest. And they said Garner's poor health was the main cause of his death.<br /> <br /> To find Pantaleo criminally negligent, the grand jury would have had to determine he knew there was a "substantial risk" that Garner would die.<br /> <br /> About 20 civil rights leaders met behind closed doors Thursday at the Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network headquarters. Sharpton said a civil rights summit will be held following a Dec. 13 march in Washington. He said the topics will include education and boycotts.<br /> <br /> The Garner case - combined with the decision by a grand jury last week not to charge the white officer who shot and killed unarmed black 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri - stirred a national conversation about race, police training and the grand jury process.