Civilian Complaint Review Board recommends NYPD discipline cop who killed Eric Garner
By Thomas Tracy and Graham Rayman
New York Daily News
September 8, 2017
The Civilian Complaint Review Board recommended the NYPD discipline the cop who used a banned chokehold in the death of Eric Garner in Staten Island three years ago.
The CCRB sent letters to Garner’s family and the NYPD notifying them of the long-awaited decision, sources said. The board substantiated two complaints against Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the Garner case.
The clash over selling untaxed cigarettes that led to the 43-year-old man’s death in July 2014 has been the subject of a long-running federal civil rights investigation.
“This is just more evidence as to why the federal government should bring civil rights charges against this officer,” said Rev. Al Sharpton, who met with Attorney General Jeff Sessions about the case in the spring.
“This is all the more reason why this officer should be fired,” he added.
Sharpton said he and four other civil rights leaders met with Sessions. He said he asked Sessions if the Justice Department chief had closed the investigation. Sessions said he had not, according to Sharpton.
A Sessions spokesman wouldn’t comment when reached on Friday.
In July, Sharpton and Garner’s family met with officials from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn and the FBI. They again told Sharpton at the meeting that there’s still an active investigation into Garner’s death. Sharpton said he’s heard nothing since then.
A federal grand jury weighing the charges has been dormant ever since the DOJ met with Garner’s family in June, a source familiar with the case said.
A CCRB spokesman declined to comment Friday.
“The NYPD is aware that the Executive Board of CCRB has elected to move forward with their findings and recommendations pertaining to the actions of Officer Pantaleo,” an NYPD spokesman said via email. “The New York City Police Department will not proceed with any internal disciplinary proceedings, at the request of the Department of Justice and due to their ongoing investigation.”
"The death of Eric Garner was tragic, and the investigative process has been understandably painful and trying for his family and loved ones. Still, the Mayor has consistently said the Administration will respect the Department of Justice's request and afford it time to complete its investigation. If it should decline to bring charges against Officer Pantaleo, the NYPD is prepared to pursue departmental charges,” said De Blasio spokesman Austin Finan.
Pantaleo’s attorney Stuart London found it odd that the CCRB upheld the charges without interviewing the cop.
“It is highly irregular — and a violation of my client’s due process rights — for charges to be substantiated without speaking to the subject of the investigation,” London said.
Pantaleo used the barred chokehold while he and other cops arrested Garner. As he collapsed and died, Garner helplessly repeated, “I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe,” according to a video first released on nydailynews.com.
Those final words became a rallying cry that fueled the rise of the national Black Lives Matter movement.
Pantaleo remains on modified duty — stripped of his badge and gun.
Police watchdogs hailed the CCRB’s findings Friday.
“Pantaleo should have already been held accountable and fired,” said Carolyn Martinez-Class, a spokesperson for Communities United for Police Reform.
Sources close to Garner’s family said his mother Gwen Carr first learned about the CCRB recommendation when reporters asked her about it on Friday.
“I’ve said it many times,” Carr told The News. It was an injustice. He should be fired along with the rest of the officers that were involved.”
Garner’s daughter, Erica Garner, didn’t mince words on Twitter in her response to a Rolling Stone link to the magazine’s version of the story.
“Fuck The Police. Eric Garner was innocent,” she wrote.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Pantaleo is a victim of political punishment. It is way past time for NYPD to return his badge and Gun and restore him to full active duty. Had Garner been white, his death would have only generated a blip in the media.
Fuck the Garner family, Al Sharpton, Black Lives Matter and the CCRB!
1 comment:
The cop didn't kill him. His own medical condition and being an asshole, starting a physical fight over what amounted to a misdemeanor notice to appear, is what killed him. The BLM crowd and Al and Jesse simply want cops, at least white cops, to stop enforcing laws against black perps. Maybe they should, just to see what happens.
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