PANTALEO PROBE
NYPD finally will investigate Garner-choke officer
The NYPD will begin the disciplinary process against an officer and a sergeant involved in the notorious chokehold death of Eric Garner.
A department official said Thursday the proceedings against Officer Daniel Pantaleo and Sgt. Kizzy Adonis will start within the next few days. The NYPD previously said it would begin in September.
The timeline changed, the official explained, because the Justice Department said it had no objection to the move. In the past, the NYPD claimed it was waiting for Justice to conclude its own probe before taking action.
The Civilian Complaint Review Board will prosecute Pantaleo, while the NYPD will prosecute Adonis.
Pantaleo is expected to be charged with using a banned chokehold and Adonis with failure to supervise. They have both been on desk duty since the incident and could lose their jobs if found guilty.
Cops approached Garner on Bay St. in Tottenville, Staten Island, on July 17, 2014, for selling loose cigarettes. When Garner objected to being stopped, Pantaleo applied the chokehold, cutting off Garner's air supply. Garner repeated “I can't breathe” at least 11 times before collapsing in the street. He died later that day.
The case helped galvanize the Black Lives Matter movement against deadly police uses of force.
"The administrative prosecution unit has been ready to prosecute Officer Pantaleo and we have commenced the process of filing charges,” said review board Chairman Fred Davie.
Mayor de Blasio was critical of the Justice Department for not making a decision on whether to charge Pantaleo with violating Garner's civil rights in four years. “I am perplexed by the approach of the Department of Justice,” he said. “There's no reason to wait anymore.”
De Blasio suggested in the future he would rethink waiting for the feds to complete their review. “If DOJ can't work on coherent timelines, then we're going to have to think differently about the whole situation,” he said. “They haven't made a decision either way. And I don't know how on earth that's possible, since they've obviously done all the investigation they ever needed to do.”
Justice Department officials said earlier this week that they gave the NYPD clearance to move forward in the spring. But de Blasio claimed, “That was the first time I ever heard of it, meaning earlier this week.”
The city's largest police union did not look favorably on the NYPD's move.
“We hope that the NYPD's eagerness to start the disciplinary process does not mean the outcome has already been decided, without even the pretense of due process,” said Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.
“P.O. Pantaleo is entitled to a complete and impartial review of the facts. We are confident that he will be vindicated by such a review, unless the mayor and the NYPD leadership have already decided to prioritize politics over fairness.”
Garner's mother, Gwen Carr, once again criticized the four-year delay.
“The idea that the NYPD couldn't have acted before DOJ has always been a lie,” she said. “It's unacceptable that the NYPD is saying that only two officers will face discipline charges when many more were involved in murdering my son, trying to cover it up and other related misconduct.”
Carr said five other cops who used force or failed to intervene should also face charges.
“It's past time for de Blasio and the NYPD to stop playing games with my son's death and release the names of all the officers responsible for his murder, tried to cover it up, and engaged in other related misconduct, and bring disciplinary charges to fire all of them,” she said.
City Councilman Donovan Richards said the move “took far too long to come.” “I am grateful that the mayor and Commissioner O'Neill finally heard the call for immediate action,” he said.