It’s been five years since Eric Garner, an African-American father of six, was killed when a white New York City police officer wrestled him to the ground and applied a fatal chokehold, while Garner, who was unarmed, said “I can’t breathe” 11 times. On Tuesday, federal prosecutors announced they will not bring civil rights charges against Daniel Pantaleo, the police officer implicated in Garner’s death. The move reportedly came after Attorney General William Barr ordered that the case be dropped. Earlier this year, a medical examiner testified that it was a chokehold that triggered an asthma attack that led to Garner’s death, which was ruled a homicide. Pantaleo remains on the police force and earns a salary of more than $100,000.
On Tuesday, federal prosecutors announced they will not bring civil rights charges against Daniel Pantaleo, the New York City police officer implicated in Garner’s death. The move reportedly came after Attorney General William Barr ordered that the case be dropped. U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue announced the decision Tuesday.
Earlier this year, a medical examiner testified it was a chokehold that triggered an asthma attack that led to Garner’s death, which was ruled a homicide. The New York Police Department banned the use of chokeholds in 1993 after it was linked to a rise in deaths. Garner family members met with federal officials shortly before the announcement.
Eric Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, said, “And, DOJ, you have not heard the last from us. Tomorrow was supposed to be the end of the statute of limitations. But let me tell you something. There is no statute of limitation on murder. That’s what I read in the law books, that murder, there is no statute of limitations. And so, we are going after you, Pantaleo. …”
“Mayor de Blasio, do your job. Fire these officers. I’m calling for them to be fired today. Today. You don’t have to wait for anything else. You see the DOJ? They failed us. So now you come forward and do your job. You said you care about the New York citizens. Come forward, show yourself as a mayor, the mayor that you was elected to be, because the Garner family is not satisfied with what you have done. My son is dead. My granddaughter is dead. And then all you’re saying is ‘Sorry. You have my condolence’? Well, keep your condolences and do the right thing. De Blasio, you and your administration, step up! Get those police officers off the force today! Today, I’m asking for them to be fired. We don’t want to wait any longer. You have the power, so assert your power!”
Jumaane Williams talking:
I do want to be clear, what we’re talking about now. All we’re talking about is firing this man from the police department. We’re not talking about a criminal conviction. We’re not talking about civil rights violations. Someone murdered someone on camera, and all we have left is at least fire him from the police department.
Obviously, the DOJ made the wrong decision. But I do have to say, they had the highest burden. And if we can’t get Mayor de Blasio, self-described progressive, who’s running for president, to fire Pantaleo, how do you expect Donald Trump’s DOJ to bring civil rights violations against him?
– according to The New York Times, conflicts between prosecutors in the Justice Department as to whether they could bring a case—that they were going to have trouble proving an intent on the part of Pantaleo to actually harm Eric Garner. But the last time a police officer was convicted of a murder or of violating civil rights was back in 1998, when Francis Livoti was convicted of civil rights violations, during the Clinton years, for an illegal chokehold that led to the death of Anthony Baez. Back then, there was no video. There was no video to show what actually happened. And so, there’s definitely, clearly, a precedent for this kind of case being brought and won.
I do want to remind people—they may not want to hear it—but this is two presidents and three attorney generals that have been looking at this, and none of them have brought charges. I do think they were wrong, and they could have. But with that said, I don’t want to absolve the DOJ, but I don’t want to skip past where we are now.
And by the way, during that time, that officer was fired from the police department by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. And so, now we have Mayor Giuliani who can fire an officer, and Mayor Bill de Blasio, self-described progressive, who’s running around saying he wants to do for the nation what he’s done for New York City, still has Daniel Pantaleo on the force.
I’m at a loss for words, because we have a man who was elected on police reform issues, on the backs of stories and blood of black and brown New Yorkers, saying that they’ll make changes in the police department. And there have been, and I always want to give credit. But where there hasn’t been is transparency and accountability.
I get angrier and angrier the more I hear this mayor responding. He should no longer mention the name Eric Garner. He should no longer tell the family that he’s sorry. He should no longer speak about this. He has had the authority the whole time to fire Daniel Pantaleo. He has had the authority to at least suspend him. He has had the authority to do something. He misled the public for so long, saying that the DOJ asked him not to proceed. That was not the truth. The DOJ told the family and us that there is nothing stopping him. In fact, they started their own departmental trial before the DOJ. This is fully, completely in the mayor’s wheelhouse. This has been a—this is all this mayor. He has let down black and brown New Yorkers and all New Yorkers who believe in justice when it comes to police doing wrong. He has done this. This is fully in his wheelhouse. Anything else is BS. And he needs to just stop. He needs to own this and do right by this family.
Apparently, the only people who believe that Daniel Pantaleo should not be fired is Pat Lynch from the PBA and Bill de Blasio, the mayor.
– U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue said that Eric Garner did not say, “I can’t breathe,” while he was in a chokehold, as we all watched this video. And let me remind people, the video was taken by a friend of Eric Garner who was right by the incident that was taking place. He just flipped open his cellphone. His name was Ramsey Orta. And he just kept on filming as the police demanded he stop filming. That’s why we know what took place. He’s currently in solitary confinement.
he’s the only one who’s seen the inside of a jail cell since this all happened, the person who filmed this.
I don’t even understand what that means. So, you just admitted that there was a chokehold; you’re just saying the time of the chokehold wasn’t at when he said, “I can’t breathe.” I don’t know what that means. There was an illegal chokehold that was used, that precipitated the death of a man by a police officer. There is no reason that there was a chokehold. There was no one in danger. We’re still looking for the cigarettes that apparently he was selling.
Like, nothing about this case is—I’m at a loss of words, five years later, when a family who—it wasn’t a body cam issue. Everybody is clear in what we saw: a man choked to death by a police officer. Everyone agrees that something wrong happened. Everyone has given their condolences. But nobody is saying that someone should be held accountable, who has the power to do so. And that’s the frustration. I expected the DOJ to do this. It’s unfortunate. I think they had the wrong decision. But here in the city, we have the power to provide some semblance of justice. And that lies with the mayor.
we can put resolutions in, as a city council. We can continue to put the pressure on, which we will. I’m going to join the activists and Gwen Carr, the mother, and the Garner family to continue to put pressure. We’re not going to let up on this. And we’re going to continue to remind everyone across the nation that this mayor is running for president while Daniel Pantaleo is still on the force.
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Jumaane Williams
public advocate for New York City.
— source democracynow.org | Jul 17, 2019