Fox News host Bill O’Reilly on Wednesday night said he was “troubled” by the Eric Garner case, as opposed to some of his fellow conservatives.
Garner died in July after being placed in a chokehold by New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo. On Wednesday, a grand jury decided not to indict Pantaleo, whose actions were caught on tape.
“I will say, that upon seeing the video that you just saw, and hearing Mr. Garner say he could not breathe, I was extremely troubled. I would have loosened my grip. I desperately wish the officer would have done that,” O’Reilly said on Wednesday.
“Yes, he should not have resisted, but all Americans, every one of us, should pity Mr. Garner and his family,” he continued. “He did not deserve what happened to him. And I think Officer Pantaleo and every other American police officer — every one — would agree with me. He didn’t deserve that.”
In the next segment, O’Reilly brought on PBS radio host Tavis Smiley to discuss the case. O’Reilly said he didn’t think the officer had “malicious” intent when placing Garner in a chokehold, and he disagreed with Smiley that there’s an “epidemic” of police officers killing blacks.
Watch the clip via Fox News:
