A Police department in Indiana has prompted outrage from the local community and a wider audience on social media by seemingly mocking the last words of police brutality victim Eric Garner.

The Indianapolis police department tweeted using the hashtag '#WeCanBreathe' when responding to a post criticizing arrests made during protests related to the failure to indict the NYPD officer who executed an illegal chokehold on Garner, leading to his death.

Garner's last words were "I can't breathe," prompting social media users and protesters to adopt the words as part of their activities.

Defending police action as appropriate, the Indianapolis PD tweeted "…communication with those involved was peaceful and appropriate but some opted for arrest by #choice, #WeCanBreathe."

The tweet was later deleted after backlash, but a screenshot was captured by the Indianapolis Star.