On the sidewalk outside New York City Hall on Monday, activists with Parents Against Police Brutality and the National Action Against Police Brutality called for the resignation of the New York Police Department Commissioner, William Bratton, over the sudden death of Eric Garner.

"We are out here today in response because of the so-called death of Staten Island father and grandfather, Eric Garner, and we are calling for the resignation of NYPD Commissioner, William Bratton, an end to broken windows-based policing, and a federal investigation into the NYPD's systematic and culture of brutality," Josmar Trujillo, an organizer with New Yorkers Against Bratton, told reporters. "On Thursday, Eric Garner pleaded over and over not to be harassed; his last words were, 'It stops today.'"

Police said Garner, 43, of Staten Island, died of a heart attack as officers attempted to arrest him for the sale of untaxed cigarettes. Video of the incident, however, shows an officer putting him in a chokehold from behind as other officers joined the fray. Garner could be heard gasping, "I can't breathe! I can't breathe!"

Mayor Bill de Blasio was joined by NYPD Commissioner Bratton at a press conference on Friday where they said they will be conducting a full investigation with Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan.

"I was very troubled by the video. I reviewed it today," de Blasio told reporters on Friday. "The men and women of the NYPD are handed an enormous responsibility to protect us. It's too early to jump to conclusions. We must wait for the full facts."

"This is not an isolated incident of excessive and fatal force by the New York Police Department on an unarmed civilian," Trujillo said. "By firing the officers involved, it is not addressing the systemic culture of brutality. We must go further and ask for a change that is deep and fundamental. The top brass of the NYPD has to pay the price. The Police Commissioner didn't address it in his first regime, he needs to held accountable."

NYPD Commissioner Bratton introduced the theory of "Broken Windows"-based policing that argues, where there are broken windows in a neighborhood, it is evidence of small crimes that could escalate into larger crimes if not handled aggressively. That theory led to a round of arrests of panhandlers, homeless veterans and an ugly legacy of brutal deaths.

During his second time as commissioner, Bratton has continued his theory and has stepped up arrests of panhandlers, homeless New Yorkers and performers in the subways. Videos of those arrests are starting to appear on the Internet -- one showing a man resisting arrest who had fallen asleep on the subway as he was going home from work.

"It just made me so sick to know that Garner died very much the same way Anthony Baez did some 20 years ago when Bill Bratton was also the Police Commissioner of the NYPD. It is like history repeats itself in the most heinous, disgusting, despicable ways," David Galarza, Justice Committee of the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights told Latin Post. "Why didn't we learn the lessons from that so-called chokehold? Why didn't we learn the lessons of the so-called broken windows theory back then? To think that Bill de Blasio's first appointment was Bill Bratton we knew we were walking down the wrong path. Communities of color screamed out this is not the wisest appointment at the time, and he still went ahead with it anyway, and see what happens six, seven months later. The killing of an innocent man because of a minor infraction. He's gotta go, Bratton's got to go."

Also attending the rally in solidarity was Ed Figueroa, a member of the South Bronx Community Congress who told Latin Post, "The Commissioner and the system they have now is not working. It should be called a broken system because it is destroying communities and families at the same time."

The viewing and funeral for Eric Garner will be on Wednesday in Brooklyn. MSNBC TV host, the Rev. Al Sharpton, will speak at the funeral. Sharpton led a march of 200 people to the 120th Precinct in Staten Island on Saturday to protest Garner's sudden death.