this is "nightline". >> it was an arrest for a petty crime, until it was anything but. this man's death sparking a debate. across the country tonight, the use of force by law enforcement under scrutiny. and the new pop master, she is the force behind beyonce's "pretty hurts." and rihanna's "diamond." and the song chandelier is one of the year's hottest singles. but there is a reason why you can't recognize one of the

world's most popular artists. >> i don't want to be seen. >> how she battled back from addiction.

good evening, a routine arrest goes very wrong, and a man seems to die at the hands of

the police. the apparent chokehold now going across the country. and as the victim's family gathers, the issue is fraught with race and public safety. >> reporter: this is the dramatic video that is triggering a wave of controversy. a violent confrontation on a new york city street that ends with one man, a black man, dead. and police accused of using excessive force and even racism. so just how much force is too much for police departments across the country? >> this happens every day in detroit. in chicago, in los angeles. you know, in atlanta. this happens all across areas where there are large populations of people of color. and in rural areas. it is ugly, it is mean, we've seen this over and over and over. >> reporter: it all unfolded in

a matter of minutes. two plain clothe police officers confronting eric garner, for allegedly selling cigarettes, a misdemeanor. there is a tense standoff as he protests. watch as the two officers move in and try to physically arrest him. garner seems to resist, one of the officers puts his forearm around garner's neck and other officers join in, and within seconds the 350-pound man is down. from the ground, garner cries ou out. >> i can't breathe, i can't breathe! >> reporter: for several long minutes, garner lays on the ground, not moving. >> he was saying stop resisting, it was like, i'm not resisting, i can't breathe. and i already knew. >> reporter: paramedics arrive,

one is seen on the videotape speaking to garner. >> sir, answer the questions, okay? >> reporter: but they appear to do something. finally, garner is placed on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to a local hospital. about an hour later, the father of six children is pronounced dead. >> it just snatched my heart right out of my chest, i'm an empty shell right now. >> reporter: the cause of garner's death is still unknown. autopsy results are expected in several weeks. but already, this case has taken on racial overtones. >> i do not believe that a white person would have been treated that way on staten island by the police. >> reporter: and prompted protests alleging police brutality. >> something needs to be done about this. >> nobody should have to die while being arrested. mr. garner's medical condition may have been the cause of it and not the action of the

officers, but equally we have to look at the officer's action. >> reporter: it is not just this case in this city. police actions are coming under scrutiny all around the country, shining a spotlight on the controversial practice of chokeholds. a technique that most big city police departments now ban. >> a chokehold can cause death. a chokehold can cause suffocation. it is a dangerous maneuver. >> reporter: this cell phone video captures a confrontation between the police and a virginia woman. petersburg police say that officers are trained to use the least amount of force. the woman was convicted of obstructing justice. and then there was this man in san francisco, already in cuffs, who appears to be held in a chokehold by this officer. police maintained it was not a chokehold but a carotid restraint, which is allowed. back in new york, this video also under scrutiny showing the

police appearing to forcibly restrain a man suspected of entering a subway station without paying. while one officer handcuffs the man, the other is seen putting his arm around the suspect's neck. nypd says the incident is under investigation by the department's internal affairs bureau. two officers were sent to the hospital. as for the garner case, some were asking was he really subjected to a chokehold. >> it is defined in the department's patrol guide that this would appear to have been a chokehold. >> reporter: but former new york city cop tappano looked at the tape and he says it was not. >> i would be really hard pressed to call that a chokehold technique, that was more a restraint technique, submission technique. >> reporter: garner had been arrested 31 times. the police union says sometimes force is necessary at times when officers are required to make an arrest they must employ the use of force in order to get

compliance. >> you resist arrest at your peril, whether you're right, black or whatever, police are going to knock you around if you resist. >> reporter: although still under investigation, the officer who put his arm around his neck, an eight-year veteran is reassigned to desk duty, pending the outcome. his badge taken away. it turns out pantaleo was at issue for two other arrests, one for a wrongful arrest, one for a strip search, the four paramedics who responded to the scene and appeared to do nothing, they have been suspended without pay. >> what should be done when an emt arrives? >> check for responsiveness, protect the cervical spine. >> did you see evidence of that? >> if it happened it was not on the video. >> reporter: the other police officers who took part in garner's arrest are also facing potential departmental

disciplinary charges and some could even face criminal charges. in response to what happened on staten island, a massive overhaul has just been ordered of the entire force. >> there will be re-training of every member of the police department. >> reporter: all 35,000 cops to be re-trained in arrest procedures and the use of force. tonight, a funeral service was held for eric garner. >> we have every right to want revenge. we have every right to be disappointed with the system. >> reporter: hundreds of people turned out to protest. >> you think we are not going to fight this one? you can get ready for the long haul. we are not going to stop until we get justice. >> reporter: and to mourn. asking how what seemed to be a routine arrest ended up with a man dying.

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. sia has worked with the biggest bold-faced names in the business, from beyonce to katy perry, but yet when it comes to her own hits the singer makes

some unusual choices to the clothes and the hair. and why she doesn't want to show her face, here is abc's chris connelly. >> reporter: this incredible voice has gone up to the top of the pop chart. the voice of sia furler, who has chosen not to show her face on camera when she performs live or speaks to the media. >> you don't really do entertainment stories really that much, right? >> sia, not like this, i don't. what makes this the right decision for you, to turn your back away from the camera? >> well, i don't want to be famous. or recognizable. i don't want to be critiqued about the way that i look on the internet. and i was at target the other day buying clothes and nobody recognized me. and my song was on the radio. and i'm like okay, this experiment is working. >> reporter: with this gifted

dancer, her song, chandelier, helped enter the charts at 41. >> what was the reason? >> i guess because it has a dark undertone. ♪ ♪ ♪ sad, right? >> she has posed on the red carpet with her fiance. but sia has been face to face with full-on celebrity and it is not for her. >> i have been writing songs for pop stars for a couple of years and become friends and seen what their life is like. and it is just not something i want. >> sia has spent the last few years6zcñ becoming one of pop freshest artist. >> beautiful like diamonds. >> rihanna's "diamonds." "wild one". >> yeah, i heard you were a wild

one. >> how come did it take you to write "titanium"? >> it was like around 40 minutes, i think, and then maybe half an hour to record the vocals. >> that is amazing. what gets you started on the lyric? >> well, i usually choose a one solid focus. like a chandelier, and i think how can i use that? that is a strong title. >> some songs pass through more than one artist's hands before it gets a title, take the song, pretty hurts. >> i sent it to katy perry, and then probably rihanna and beyonce's people. and rihanna just threw the money down. it was a really awkward situation. so rihanna's engineer had a great idea. he was like why don't you play her "diamonds." rihanna was like, i love this

song. it's mine. >> everybody goes, so i'm happy? >> yeah, that is how we like it here. >> why then step out and become an artist again? >> i didn't think this music would get heard otherwise. >> reporter: in 2005, this australian native song was used in the finale of "six feet under." ♪ ♪ >> i was extremely depressed at the time. that was one of my lowest points. >> it was not just alcohol for you, was it? >> oh, no, i don't think i would have ever started drinking if i hadn't gotten hooked on zanax and oxycontin. >> she holed up in her home, thinking about suicide. eventually she found her way to a program. >> i thought oh, my god, that was what was wrong with me all along. >> sia took is downstairs, as we

watched and listened, sia began to melody right there on the spot. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> so then that is all we would do. that was -- can we have a copy of that? >> nice work. >> and rihanna cuts it next week. >> how often do you tweak it? >> oh, i don't tweak it really at all. i can make any word fit. like chandelier, so if you bend them in certain ways? >> the repetition of a strong concept is how these two came up with the song, perfume. >> we write these songs in like 40 minutes and then just send them to someone, and never

really refer back to them again. >> it passes through your life in an afternoon? >> do i see you there ♪ ♪ you'll be me ♪ you and me ♪ ♪ ♪ sometimes ♪ ♪ >> i just lift these concepts off like crap television. and then like, it's so fun. and i apply them to music. >> that is why we love this pop music, though, isn't it? >> yeah, because it gets -- there is a story or it makes us feel good or it makes us feel sad. >> oh, but the odds of the public getting to listen to sia is not good. as she told us upstairs, touring

is not on her menu. >> i mean, i did imagine it. but i have unimagined it. it may change, but right now that is not on the cards for me. >> she has performed on such shows as the ellen degeneres show, and sia notes this is part of the concept. >> the concept of you know, creating a brand which is an inanimate object, this blonde bob, being able to put anyone under it, a kid, a man, a dog, and then everybody can be the singer. >> she is a very awesome singer, very caring. and she did jimmy kimmel. >> years ago, the family friend from the australian band "men at work" introduced her. >> he saidd i hope you're happy

and successful. >> are you? >> yeah. >> can you believe it? >> i do spend a lot of time like pinching myself. i have to say it has been pretty amazing, i might cry. it has been really amazing. the last couple of years have just been, since i made the decision to just take care of my own sanity and serenity, my life just improved so much. and i'm honestly surprised that things are working out so well for me. >> i'm chris connelly for "nightline," in los angeles. our thanks to chris connelly for that. up next for us, most of the passengers on board malaysia airlines flight 17 were dutch. and today, nearly a week after the crash a sad homecoming. and a grieving nation pays their respects. abc news "nightline." brought to you by progressive. you got a little something on the back of your shoe there.

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and finally tonight, a nation in mourning. the somber ceremony as the dutch received the first remains of the victims from malaysia airlines flight 17. it seems the only sights and sounds in the netherlands today were of those paying2ótribute.

♪ ♪ ♪ >> and then, hushed silence. across the grief-stricken country, all the way to the malaysian parliament. 193 of the nearly 300 people on the doomed malaysian airliner were dutch citizens. and today as the first bodies made the journey home nearly a week after the crash they were met by a nation covered in collective grief. from royalty, to everyone else, offering blossoms and tributes. the coffins were flown from ukraine, transported in a procession that stopped traffic on highways. people on bridges and in the streets lining up to pay the

respects for families, meaningful tributes in the face of unimaginable tragedy. thanks for watching abc news, world news is coming up soon with overnight breaking news. as always, we're on line at abc.com. good night, america. for his chicken pox." how many more before michael? shh! 40 minutes already! quiet! "and his mommy put the cream on, and he felt better." the end. eileen: thank you, gracie. that was a wonderful and very imaginative story. and now we have ian. oh, crap.

"escape from the blue planet." finally, science fiction. "the rocket ship landed on the blue planet that was filled with water." you don't think this is nice? you know, they wrote these all by themselves. no kidding. "and the rocket got stuck, but the pilot had some extra gas." he's not the only one. "so that is how they were able to escape from the blue planet." the end. wonderful, ian, and very exciting. michael? it's your turn. thank god. we go after this. "the angry family."