The illegal chokehold used by NYPD on Eric Garner in Staten Island last month was what was killed the 43-year-old father, and his death has been ruled a homicide, according to the medical examiner announcement on Friday.

According to the medical examiner spokeswoman Julie Bolcer, Garner's death was caused by "the compression of his chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police." Asthma and heart disease contributed to his death, she added.

The video of Garner's death caused waves among the nation after the footage showed Officer Daniel Pantaleo and a fellow officer attempting to arrest Garner for selling individual, or 'untaxed,' cigarettes on the streets of Staten Island.

On the footage Pantaleo and his partner can be seen wresting Garner to the ground after the asthmatic father protests. One of the officers administers a chokehold on the 350-pound man, who repeatedly says "I can't breathe," as his face is buried into the ground by the officers.

Garner died during the arrest, and both the NYPD officers and four EMT workers were under scrutiny after the incident. The four EMT workers were suspended without pay after witnesses reported their lack of emergency care as the man lay dying on the sidewalk.

The original arrest report did not document the chokehold, according to records released by the NYPD, and no mention of the hold, which is an illegal method of restraint within the department, was made until video of the incident surfaced.

After the video began to go viral, the top cop in NYPD ordered all of his officers retrained in proper restraint techniques.

Pantaleo was stripped of his badge and gun and was put on desk duty for the incident, and his partner was reassigned during the investigation.

A number of protests have taken place in the weeks since Garner's death, with activists and Garner's family speaking out about the incident.

More allegations of the use of illegal restraints by NYPD have been alleged in the weeks since Garner's death, with at least two caught on tape.

The most recent allegation comes from a 7-month-pregnant mother, who was documented on camera being held in what appears to be a chokehold by an NYPD officer.