Feds clear choke cop, Garner kin fume ... HIS BLACK LIFE DIDN’T MATTER
‘Insult to injury’ on the eve of slay’s 5-year ann’y, mom cries
The family of Eric Garner (main photo), whose death at the hands of Officer Daniel Pantaleo from banned chokehold (inset) helped launch Black Lives Matter movement, was denied longsought justice Tuesday after feds refused to press civil rights charges against the cop.
The fifth anniversary of Eric Garner’s chokehold death brought a double dose of heartache for his tortured family.
A day after his mother and other relatives visited Garner’s New Jersey grave, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday that white Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo will not face civil rights charges in the July 17, 2014, chokehold death of the 43-year-old black Staten Islander.
Anguished family members of the man whose final words — “I can’t breathe” — galvanized the Black Lives Matter movement blasted the long-delayed decision that the Justice Department would spare the cop from trial. While the news was delivered at an emotionally charged Brooklyn meeting with U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue, the final call on the case came from Attorney General William Barr, appointed just five months ago by President Trump.
“This is an outrage, an insult to injury,” said heartbroken mother Gwen Carr. “You killed my son, and you won’t get away with it. This is not an easy fight, but we kept on pushing. And make no mistake about it, we’re still going to push.”
Family members and activists called for the immediate firing of Pantaleo, who remains on modified duty, collects a city paycheck and carries no gun or shield. They also announced plans for 11 upcoming “Days of Outrage” in response to the decision — one for each time that Garner spoke his desperate last sentence.
“Justice has been choked,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton, urging Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner James O’Neill to dismiss Pantaleo immediately. “Lady Justice has been choked like Eric Garner. Now it’s time for them to make their move. … This is like a slap in the face of the family on the eve of the anniversary.”
Garner’s daughter Emerald Snipes stood shouting and swearing outside the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse after hearing the decision.
“I’m going to stand out here and scream it: He needs to be fired!” said an enraged Snipes. “Five years later, there is still no justice.”
Though federal officials intended to break the news to the family at the meeting, several distraught relatives were already aware of the decision via social media.
Garner died as Pantaleo tried to arrest him for selling loose, untaxed cigarettes on a Staten Island sidewalk, with a video of the incident capturing the dying Garner’s now-famous final statement.
The dead man’s family settled with the city for $5.9 million in 2015, while a Staten Island grand jury decided not to indict Pantaleo later that year in December. An NYPD departmental trial was held this May and June, with no announced on Pantaleo’s future. Trial testimony showed cops at the scene believed Garner was possibly faking a health issue when he collapsed to the sidewalk, and an NYPD supervisor brushed off the fatality in a text to a colleague.
“Not a big deal,” the text read. “We were effecting a lawful arrest.”
The NYPD released a statement saying the federal ruling would not affect its case against Pantaleo, a 13year veteran.
“Commissioner O’Neill is now awaiting the report and recommendation from the deputy commissioner of trials, after which he will make the final determination on the matter,” said NYPD Deputy Commissioner Phillip Walzak, who declined addidecision
tional comment.
Donoghue, at a news conference, acknowledged there was an unacceptably long delay in the Justice Department’s resolution of the case that drew national attention while prompting angry protests on the streets of the city and around the country.
“Mr. Garner’s death was a tragedy,” said Donoghue. “But these facts are separate and distinct from whether a crime was committed. Admittedly, many may disagree with this decision, and that is their right.”
The prosecutor specifically said Pantaleo did not have Garner in a chokehold at the moment when the victim began gasping for air and repeating his final words.
De Blasio, after ripping the decision, announced a new policy in which the city will immediately file departmental charges rather than wait for prosecutors to first decide on criminal charges.
“Years ago, we put our faith in the federal government to act,” said de Blasio in a statement. “We won’t make that mistake again.”
The Police Benevolent Association was quick to praise the decision sparing Pantaleo from prosecution.
“Although Mr. Garner’s death was an undeniable tragedy, Police Officer Pantaleo did not cause it,” said union President Patrick Lynch. “Scapegoating a good and honorable officer, who was doing his job in the manner he was taught, will not heal the wounds this case has caused for our entire city.”
But an outpouring of criticism came from a variety of sources both angry and frustrated by the overly long review and what they viewed as a disappointing decision.
“For five long years, the United States district attorney’s office for the Eastern District has played politics with Mr. Garner’s killing, unnecessarily prolonging his family’s anguish,” said Tina Luongo, attorney in charge of the criminal defense practice at the Legal Aid Society.
Pantaleo has never spoken publicly about what happened, although he testified in the grand jury about using an NYPD-sanctioned “seatbelt” maneuver in arresting Garner. But the Civilian Complaint Review Board noted the officer did not receive training about the hold.
Pantaleo received no advance warning of the decision, watching the Donoghue news conference to confirm what he saw on social media, said his lawyer Stu London. But the Justice Department decision didn’t allay Pantaleo’s biggest concern.
“He’s always concerned about his safety,” said London. “Concerned that people know where he works. Concerned that people know where he lives.”
The feds had until Wednesday, the fifth anniversary of the death, to make their decision on the case — although they told the NYPD a year ago that their probe of the fatal confrontation was finished.