A candlelight vigil was held on Tuesday in memory of the man who died last Thursday after New York police officers allegedly put him in a choke hold.

The vigil was held in the area where a bystander recorded Eric Garner in a verbal confrontation with two plainclothes officers from the New York Police Department. In the video, which was published by the Daily News, an officer appears to put Garner in a choke hold and slam his face into the ground, while he can be heard screaming "I can't breathe." Authorities say that the asthmatic Staten Island man died from a heart attack about an hour after his arrest.

Now community leaders are calling for justice for Garner and the end of excessive police force.

After gathering at a local park where police tried to arrest Garner, family, friends and community members marched to the Staten Island precinct chanting "I can't breathe," reports the Associated Press.

"I'm overwhelmed and thankful for everyone who is outraged just like we are," said Garner's sister, Ellisha Flagg, according to the Huffington Post. She added that her brother came from a "great family" and was raised to respect law enforcement. "He allowed them to take his breath and didn't fight back."

The head of the NAACP's local branch, Ed Josey, described Garner's death as a "modern-day lynching," according to the Staten Island Advance.

NYPD Commissioner William Bratton also paid a visit to the borough on Tuesday and said at a news conference that the NYPD will conduct a "top to bottom review of all of the training this department provides to its personnel, specifically focusing on force, how do we train our officers for a takedown, how do we train them to use the various levels of force that they're authorized to use."

Meanwhile, the NYPD Officer seen putting Garner in a choke hold has been identified as Daniel Pantaleo. He loss his gun and badge and has been placed on "modified assignment" pending the investigation.

Garner's funeral was held at the Bethel Baptist Church in Brooklyn on Wednesday.

According to the New York Daily News, he was a married father of six and a grandfather. Relatives described the 350-pound, 6-foot-3 man as a "gentle giant" and a "big teddy bear," reports the Staten Island Live.

"They jumped him, and they were choking him. He was foaming at the mouth," 22-year-old witness Ramsey Orta told the Daily News. "And that's it, he was done. The cops were saying, 'No, he's OK, he's OK.' He wasn't OK."

The NYPD released a statement on the incident, saying Garner "took a fighting stance" and "absolutely resisted arrest."

Still, the Patrol Guide absolutely forbids NYPD officers from using a choke hold to restrain suspects.