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As word traveled Thursday that Attorney General Eric Holder was stepping down, the family of Eric Garner and the Rev. Al Sharpton were in the nation's capital calling on the Department of Justice to take over the investigation into Garner's death. Washington Bureau reporter Michael Scotto filed the following report for NY1.

The Rev. Al Sharpton got the news of Attorney General Eric Holder's resignation as he was standing next to the family of Eric Garner.

"There is no attorney general that has demonstrated a civil rights record equal to Eric Holder," Sharpton said.

Sharpton was in Washington with Garner's mother and the parents of Michael Brown Thursday, demanding that Holder intervene in the criminal investigations into the deaths of the two unarmed black men killed by police.

Garner died from a chokehold as police tried to arrest him for selling loose cigarettes on Staten Island; Brown died from police bullets in Ferguson, Missouri.

"If you have the federal government that does not depend on local police, you have a more objective and fair investigation. It protects everyone," Sharpton said.

"We're here also to ask for justice, and we need it now," said Gwen Carr, Garner's mother.

Sharpton is planning what he calls a "hands up" march in Washington this fall to symbolize, he said, that both men died while their arms were raised.

As for the investigation, Sharpton acknowledges Holder's resignation could pose some problems, especially if Republicans win control of the Senate this fall and are responsible for confirming Holder's successor. It's for that reason that Sharpton wants Holder to take action now.

"I hope if the reports are right, before he leaves, he ends it by addressing these two specific cases," Sharpton said.

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Garner Family, Sharpton Call on Justice Dept. to Take Over Garner Case