After Eric Garner, Twitter unconvinced #blacklivesmatter

A New York City grand jury has declined to indict a white police officer in the case of Eric Garner, a 43-year-old unarmed black man who died July 17 in a police chokehold, the Staten Island district attorney announced Wednesday. VPC

On Wednesday, a New York City grand jury cleared white New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo in the videotaped chokehold death of Eric Garner, a 43-year-old unarmed black man.

For many, the ruling felt like an encore of the Michael Brown verdict last week, when a grand jury chose not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. Unlike the Brown incident, there was video of Garner's struggle with police.

Shortly after news of the ruling broke, #blacklivesmatter started trending on Twitter. In the hour afterward, there were more than 13,000 tweets using the hashtag, according to Twitter analytics tool Topsy.

The medical examiner ruled Garner's death a homicide and state charges could have ranged from murder to reckless endangerment.

Police union officials and Pantaleo's lawyer said he used an authorized takedown move - not a banned chokehold - because Garner was resisting arrest for selling untaxed cigarettes. They said his poor health was the main reason he died.

Here are some of the reactions on Twitter after the grand jury ruling:

I am stunned by the failure to indict Eric Garner's killer.

- John Legend (@johnlegend) December 3, 2014

The breaking news of no indictment in Eric Garner's death is yet another tragic reason we must prevail in the Journey for Justice.

- Cornell Brooks (@CornellWBrooks) December 3, 2014

You'd get more time for attempting to burn down the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree than that cop did for murdering Eric Garner on tape

- Desus Nice (@desusnice) December 3, 2014

Maybe if a ham sandwich had killed Eric Garner, things would have turned out differently.

- David Joachim, NYT (@davidjoachim) December 3, 2014

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