NYC police officer who killed Eric Garner should be fired, police judge rules

[rooster59]

NYC police officer who killed Eric Garner should be fired, police judge rules

By Jonathan Allen

 

New York protesters march and rally on the fifth anniversary of the death of Eric Garner in New York, U.S., July 17, 2019. REUTERS/Michael A. McCoy

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A white New York City police officer who killed an unarmed black man with a banned chokehold in 2014 should be fired, a police judge recommended on Friday in a case that stoked the Black Lives Matter movement and reverberated in the U.S. presidential campaign.

 

Officer Daniel Pantaleo had been on desk duty since widely viewed cellphone videos showed him using the chokehold on Eric Garner during an attempted arrest on a sidewalk in Staten Island, one of five boroughs in the most populous U.S. city. Police believed Garner was selling loose, untaxed cigarettes.

 

Garner's repeated dying cries of "I can't breathe!" became a rallying cry for the growing Black Lives Matter movement, which protests police brutality against blacks around the country.

 

His death, and the slow-moving investigations that followed, have generated some of the harshest criticisms of Mayor Bill de Blasio during his tenure and have spilled over into his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Protesters chanted "Fire Pantaleo!" during de Blasio's opening statement in Wednesday's presidential primary debate in Detroit.

 

The case tested the liberal mayor's relationships with both civil rights activists, who have long complained that the city's black and Latino residents are harassed by police, and the rank-and-file police officers who work for him, some of whom say they have been made scapegoats by his office.

 

"Today, we finally saw a step towards justice and accountability," de Blasio told reporters at City Hall. "We saw a process that was actually fair and impartial, and I hope that this will now bring the Garner family a sense of closure and the beginning of some peace."

 

The department immediately suspended Pantaleo without pay for 30 days, following standard practice, while the recommendation undergoes final review. The police commissioner is expected to follow the judge's recommendation, CNN reported.

 

Firing was one of the few punishments available. A Staten Island grand jury declined to indict Pantaleo in 2014 on criminal charges, and federal prosecutors said last month they would not bring charges because there was insufficient evidence.

 

In 2015, New York City paid a $5.9 million settlement to Garner's family to avoid a civil lawsuit.

 

De Blasio repeated his position that he would not say whether he believed Pantaleo should be fired.

 

Pantaleo is allowed to comment on the report before it is completed and formally presented to Police Commissioner James O'Neill for a final decision.

 

Rosemarie Maldonado, a deputy police commissioner who oversees disciplinary hearings, reached her verdict after serving as the judge in Pantaleo's disciplinary trial earlier this year.

 

Garner's family welcomed Maldonado's ruling but said it took far too long.

 

"It's past time for Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NYPD to end their obstruction, stop spreading misleading talking points and finally take action for my son," Gwen Carr, Garner's mother, said in a statement.

 

The civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton said at a news conference that the police commissioner should fire Pantaleo "immediately and unequivocally."

 

"This is not justice for the Garner family, because justice for the Garner family would have been a federal proceeding or a criminal proceeding in the local court," Sharpton said. The family still hoped to have the U.S. Congress hold hearings on the case, he said.

 

'PURE POLITICAL INSANITY'

 

The powerful police labour union, the Police Benevolent Association, condemned the outcome and said the departmental judge had caved to "grandstanding politicians."

 

"This decision is pure political insanity," Patrick Lynch, the union's president, said in a statement. "If it is allowed to stand, it will paralyse the NYPD for years to come."

 

New York Attorney General Letitia James urged the police commissioner and the mayor to fire Pantaleo "to ensure our communities finally feel some semblance of justice."

 

The mayor has said he regrets his decision to postpone disciplinary proceedings against Pantaleo for what would become several years while a U.S. Justice Department civil rights investigation was ongoing.

 

He reversed course last year, saying he would no longer wait for the Justice Department, and ordered the police department to begin the internal disciplinary trial.

 

During that trial, prosecutors from the city's Civilian Complaint Review Board, an oversight agency, argued that Pantaleo should be fired for using a banned chokehold. Pantaleo's lawyers argued that Garner himself, not the officer, was to blame for his death, and that Pantaleo followed his training and orders from senior police.

 

Evidence "was more than sufficient to prove that Pantaleo is unfit to serve," CCRB Chairman Fred Davie said in a statement. "Commissioner O'Neill must uphold this verdict and dismiss Pantaleo from the Department...."

 

A lawyer for Pantaleo did not respond to requests for comment.

 

(Reporting by Jonathan Allen; Additional reporting by Matthew Lavietes; Editing by Dan Grebler and Cynthia Osterman)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-08-03

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[Tug]

Killing a guy for selling cigarettes is a (bit) harsh I support firing the cop he should consider himsielf very lucky indeed that’s all that’s happened to him

[MalandLee]

You can make up your own mind by watching the video here

 

[metisdead]

A troll post misconstruing another member's post has been removed.  The other member did not claim that the death sentence should be applied. 

 

Edit: A post that contained information with no supporting link has been removed.  Please provide a link even if the information is from Wikipedia. 

Edited August 3, 2019 by metisdead

[daoyai]

2 hours ago, Tug said:

Killing a guy for selling cigarettes is a (bit) harsh I support firing the cop he should consider himsielf very lucky indeed that’s all that’s happened to him

Obviously not killed for selling cigs.  died from preexisting health conditions exacerbated by fighting while resisting arrest, the "sleeper hold" used by the cop while attempting to subdue the guy was banned due to the danger to suspects. That is grounds for termination.   The fact that some people would say he. was killed for his petty crime says more about them than it does about this incident or the state of policing in the U.S.  .... all lives matter. .... when it comes to police, I learned long ago, comply or die.

[legend49]

2 hours ago, MalandLee said:

You can make up your own mind by watching the video here

 

Thanks for the link. Looks just like Thailand; 7 persons on one. The force used was unwarranted in my opinion.

[neeray]

2 hours ago, MalandLee said:

You can make up your own mind by watching the video here

 

Thank you for the link. Totally <deleted> ridiculous. Half a dozen (or more) of New York's finest to arrest a guy for "maybe" selling untaxed cigarettes.

God Bless America.

Edited August 3, 2019 by neeray
edit

[userabcd]

About 7 cops to deal with an issue of 1 man selling cigarettes?

 

The aggressive use of force by the police resulted in this mans death.

[Benmart]

1 hour ago, userabcd said:

About 7 cops to deal with an issue of 1 man selling cigarettes?

 

The aggressive use of force by the police resulted in this mans death.

I avoid conclusions based on not being there, and thinking I know everything based on a video. Never having interviewed any of those that were involved questions the credibility of armchair judgement.

[Mick501]

1 hour ago, userabcd said:

About 7 cops to deal with an issue of 1 man selling cigarettes?

 

The aggressive use of force by the police resulted in this mans death.

350lb man, obviously resisting, and 30 previous convictions.   

 

Spoken like someone who who has never seen an angry man.

[Baerboxer]

7 hours ago, Tug said:

Killing a guy for selling cigarettes is a (bit) harsh I support firing the cop he should consider himsielf very lucky indeed that’s all that’s happened to him

 

Indeed. The US Justice System seems somewhat of a joke at times. Justice is what the politicians want it to be. Saying there wasn't enough evidence is lunacy.

 

There was video proof that the officer used unreasonable force, applying a choke hold that was banned and therefore illegal too. But no one wants to prosecute him because it's to political.

 

Now they want to fire him instead and hope that act plus the compensation dished out to the victims family will make it all go away.

 

America has some serious problems at the political and judicial levels.

[Baerboxer]

2 hours ago, Mick501 said:

350lb man, obviously resisting, and 30 previous convictions.   

 

Spoken like someone who who has never seen an angry man.

 

Did you see the video?

 

 

[lannarebirth]

7 hours ago, Tug said:

Killing a guy for selling cigarettes is a (bit) harsh I support firing the cop he should consider himsielf very lucky indeed that’s all that’s happened to him

There is no encounter with the police in America that can not escalate to the police killing you for whatever reason they see fit. White, Black, Hispanic, whatever, doesn't matter.

[JulesMad]

3 hours ago, Mick501 said:

350lb man, obviously resisting, and 30 previous convictions.

Proof please!!! Of all your 3 statements...

If you call this resisting, you have NEVER seen somebody really resisting!
30 previous convictions?!? Easy to say unsubstantiated facts as is the norm these days in usa. And then you wonder why people dislike/hate usa???

[daoyai]

1 hour ago, lannarebirth said:

There is no encounter with the police in America that can not escalate to the police killing you for whatever reason they see fit. White, Black, Hispanic, whatever, doesn't matter.

Very true, that is why it amazes me that some people choose to escalate the situation by attempting to fight, resist or reach for an item that my be seen as a weapon.   The case of Eric Garner is tragic, it does seem they swarmed him pretty quickly, he could have put his hands behind his back to be cuffed, not sure how long he ignored the order and argued before the video begins. It is clear the neck hold was brief and would not have killed a more heathy individual. 

[daoyai]

35 minutes ago, JulesMad said:

Proof please!!! Of all your 3 statements...

If you call this resisting, you have NEVER seen somebody really resisting!
30 previous convictions?!? Easy to say unsubstantiated facts as is the norm these days in usa. And then you wonder why people dislike/hate usa???

The news reports mention 30 arrests, not convictions also 350 pounds... he was a real fat sickly dude. Asthma and heart condition. Not sure about resisting arrest, it seems he was not complying with the arrest. 

 

 As to why people hate the U.S.A?....  these very isolated but well overly sensationalized incidents will cause the already hate filled to try to justify their hatred.... others are just jealous of all things American.

[metisdead]

A troll post has been removed. 

[sirineou]

1 hour ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Indeed. The US Justice System seems somewhat of a joke at times. Justice is what the politicians want it to be. Saying there wasn't enough evidence is lunacy.

 

There was video proof that the officer used unreasonable force, applying a choke hold that was banned and therefore illegal too. But no one wants to prosecute him because it's to political.

 

Now they want to fire him instead and hope that act plus the compensation dished out to the victims family will make it all go away.

 

America has some serious problems at the political and judicial levels.

Politics swing both ways ,and not only in the US.

  Two different legal courts have found the police officers not liable, then when political pressure did not get the result it desired , political pressure took it to and administrative judge to get the desired result.

I watched the video , the police officers tried to reason with the man, he did not comply. he resisted arrest, what were they supposed to do? go back to the police station and tell their supervisor that the could not arrest him because he did not want to go? 

Or should they give him a medical examination to determine the amount of force to apply? 

He died because of three reasons,he engaged in illegal activity,  He resisted arrest, and was in bad physical shape. if not for these facts he would be alive today.  

I am sure there are instances where police acts improperly, IMO this was not one of them.  

 

[Chomper Higgot]

A particularly shocking fact is that until the protests following the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014 and the rise of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, there was no mandatory reporting or standardised data collection on killings by US police officers.

 

When the DoJ did eventually respond by trialing a mandatory and standardised reporting process, the number of killings by police officers counted was near twice as many as previous FBI estimates.

 

Data is now gathered and available for analysis, the claim ‘all lives matter’ now at least backed up by all killings by police being counted, even if the data gathered clearly demonstrates some lives matter far less than others.

 

Feel free to disagree, but come armed with data to back up your claims.

[4675636b596f75]

At a minimum, the scumbag cop should be prosecuted for manslaughter.  He murdered Garner.  The cops who helped, should be tried as accessories to the crime.  The cops who watched and did nothing should be tried for misprision of a felony.  Look it up.

[4675636b596f75]

10 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

A particularly shocking fact is that until the protests following the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014 and the rise of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, there was no mandatory reporting or standardised data collection on killings by US police officers.

You should have put the word "justified" in front of the words "fatal shooting."

 

The police officer was more than justified.  Had Brown approached me in the same manner, I would have drawn my gun and shot him until he stopped the aggression.

[sirineou]

7 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

A particularly shocking fact is that until the protests following the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014 and the rise of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, there was no mandatory reporting or standardised data collection on killings by US police officers.

 

When the DoJ did eventually respond by trialing a mandatory and standardised reporting process, the number of killings by police officers counted was near twice as many as previous FBI estimates.

 

Data is now gathered and available for analysis, the claim ‘all lives matter’ now at least backed up by all killings by police being counted, even if the data gathered clearly demonstrates some lives matter far less than others.

 

Feel free to disagree, but come armed with data to back up your claims.

Obviously once standardised reporting was implemented the numbers reported would go up, How does that indicate that some lives matter less?

Or did I misunderstood? 

And how does this apply to this case?

 

 

[sirineou]

3 minutes ago, 4675636b596f75 said:

At a minimum, the scumbag cop should be prosecuted for manslaughter.  He murdered Garner.  The cops who helped, should be tried as accessories to the crime.  The cops who watched and did nothing should be tried for misprision of a felony.  Look it up.

With twenty , twenty hindsight, If you were the police office, how would you have done things different in this case.

[Chomper Higgot]

2 minutes ago, sirineou said:

Obviously once standardised reporting was implemented the numbers reported would go up, How does that indicate that some lives matter less?

Or did I misunderstood? 

And how does this apply to this case?

 

 

You need to look at the data.

 

This case is a data point.

[4675636b596f75]

3 minutes ago, sirineou said:

With twenty , twenty hindsight, If you were the police office, how would you have done things different in this case.

Did you watch the video?  Did the cops have pepper spray?  Did they have stun guns?  Did they use them?  No.

 

Prison for them all.

[sirineou]

1 minute ago, Chomper Higgot said:

You need to look at the data.

 

This case is a data point.

You looked at the data and concluded that "some lives matter less than others" so the question is , why did you come to that opinion after looking at the data?

[Chomper Higgot]

1 minute ago, sirineou said:

With twenty , twenty hindsight, If you were the police office, how would you have done things different in this case.

Perhaps it’s not the individual officer so much as the training he received, did not receive.

 

Firing the officer is symbolic or worse still scapegoating if the training and systematic behaviour within the police force is not examined.

 

Example, the officer used a banned restraining technique with deadly consequences, but was he and his fellow officers adequately trained in alternative methods?

[sirineou]

Just now, 4675636b596f75 said:

Did you watch the video?  Did the cops have pepper spray?  Did they have stun guns?  Did they use them?  No.

 

Prison for them all.

Do you think Pepper spray could have induced a asthmatic reaction?

Could a stun gun aggravate a heart condition?

[sirineou]

2 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Perhaps it’s not the individual officer so much as the training he received, did not receive.

 

Firing the officer is symbolic or worse still scapegoating if the training and systematic behaviour within the police force is not examined.

 

Example, the officer used a banned restraining technique with deadly consequences, but was he and his fellow officers adequately trained in alternative methods?

Instead of firing the Officer, and punishing him and his family, for training he did not receive, How about they fire those responsible for the training?

[Chomper Higgot]

18 minutes ago, sirineou said:

You looked at the data and concluded that "some lives matter less than others" so the question is , why did you come to that opinion after looking at the data?

I don’t have to conclude anything, some very bright and well qualified researchers publish papers on the matter, by example this in The American Journal of Preventative Medicine.

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6080222/

 

No need to rely on some bloke on an Internet forum, we have scientists with data.

 

 

Edited August 3, 2019 by Chomper Higgot