Family members of Eric Garner, the man who died after a New York Police Department (NYPD) officer put him in an illegal chokehold last summer, recently turned down a $5 million wrongful death settlement.

Garner died shortly after Staten Island police officer Daniel Pantaleo put him in a chokehold during his arrest on July 17, 2014. A video recording of the incident shows that the 43-year-old black man had a verbal confrontation with Pantaleo and another white cop who accused him of selling untaxed cigarettes. During the arrest, Pantaleo put the married father of six in a chokehold and ignored Garner's repeated cry, "I can't breathe." Garner died from a heart attack about an hour after his arrest.

Almost one year later, inside sources said that Garner's widow, Esaw, turned down NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer's $5 million offer, reports The New York Daily News. The source added the Garner family was urged by their attorney Jonathan Moore to accept the hefty offer and then seek more money through a separate lawsuit against the EMTs who failed to administer first aid to Garner in the video.

Negotiations are expected to continue until Friday, which is the deadline for the family to file a wrongful death lawsuit before the statute of limitations expires. In a previous statement, the family said it intends to sue the city for $75 million, reports Metro.

An unnamed civil rights lawyer not involved in the case said that the city's offer was fair. Plus, it also would have been one of the largest wrongful death settlements involving a homicide committed by NYPD cops.

"In the gamut of wrongful death cases it's a very substantial offer," the lawyer told the Daily News.

The lawyer added that the law has restrictions on the amount that can be recovered. Settlements are also calculated by gauge the victim's conscious pain and suffering, along with loss of family income.

"The conscious pain and suffering (in the Garner case) was probably about a minute," the lawyer said.