Transcript
More than five years after the controversial death of Eric Garner, New York’s police commissioner has fired police officer Daniel Pantaleo.
Garner was approached by Pantaleo and other officers for allegedly selling loose cigarettes in July 2014.
The arrest was caught on camera.
It shows Pantaleo wrapping his arm around Garner’s neck, jerking him back and pulling him to the ground.
Garner’s last words before he died, “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!”, became a rallying cry for protesters all over the country.
Even though the city’s medical examiner ruled Garner’s death a homicide and the chokehold use was banned by the NYPD, no charges were filed against Pantaleo.
However an internal NYPD investigation found “grave misconduct” by Pantaleo.
That report factored in the Commissioner’s decision to fire Pantaleo.
It characterized Pantaleo’s use of force in Garner’s arrest as “reckless” and a “gross deviation from the standard of conduct.”
The commissioner said “It is clear Daniel Pantaleo can no longer effectively serve as a New York City police officer” and he was fired.
The commissioner and New York’s mayor admit this case took too long to reach a conclusion and they expressed hope the city can move on and learn from what happened.
But the case is not over.
Pantaleo’s defense attorney plans to appeal the decision, saying the chokehold did not cause Garner’s death and that firing Pantaleo will have a negative effect on the entire police force.
The commissioner says political pressure did not influence his decision to fire the police officer involved in Eric Garner’s death.
Garner’s family praised NYPD’s decision but says they will be requesting a Congressional hearing to reopen the case.
The Closed Caption version of this video can be found here: https://sign1news.com/2019/08/20/sign1news-8-20-19/
Sign1News is the first and only digital network, partnered with world news leader CNN, to offer on-line news and information in American Sign Language. Sign1News provides equal access to local, regional and national news and information to the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community via a daily post-produced broadcast. Sign1News: Your Life. Your Language.