Tearful family members, elected officials and perfect strangers alike packed out the Bethel Baptist Church in Brooklyn on Wednesday to pay their final respects to Eric Garner, who died after scuffling with cops last week.
“He was a good person. He was no thug,” said Nicholas Heyward, 57, who grew up with Garner when the two lived in the Gowanus Houses in Boerum Hill. “He didn’t deserve this.
“When I realized it was him, I felt a lot of pain. I was angry, upset and disappointed with the actions of the police.”
Garner’s grieving widow, Esaw, arrived to the church around 5 p.m. flanked by two of the couple’s six sons, who were both dressed in matching suits and supporting their distraught mother.
Garner’s mother and sister arrived a short time later in a stretch limousine, also looking devastated.
Hundreds of mourners made their way past Garner as he lay in an open, white casket, dressed in a white suit and a light-blue shirt and tie.
“I never met him, but I came to pay my respects,” said Cyprian Mckenzie, 53. “I came because I figured it could have been me. I saw this on TV and I said, ‘I have to be there.’ ”