July 22, 2014
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Officer Daniel Pantaleo was stripped of his badge and gun yesterday after video footage clearly showed him putting a Staten Island, NY man into an illegal chokehold. Additionally, 4 EMT workers have been suspended without pay for failing to provide oxygen or CPR to the man while on the scene.
Eric Garner, 43, had just broken up a fight and was standing by when police approached him and accused him of stealing and of selling loose cigarettes on the street. In the video, Garner is heard yelling, “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” as officers pounced on him, tackling him to the ground and pushing his face into the cement sidewalk. Garner stopped speaking and struggling and eventually died. Cell phone video later showed paramedics arriving on the scene, with Officer Pantaleo in the background laughing and waving lightheartedly at the cameras recording him.
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING VIDEO IS GRAPHIC
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio released the following statement about Garner’s death:
“On behalf of all New Yorkers, I extend my deepest condolences to the family of Mr. Garner, who died yesterday afternoon while being placed in police custody. We have a responsibility to keep every New Yorker safe, and that includes when individuals are in custody of the NYPD. That is a responsibility that Police Commissioner Bratton and I take very seriously. We are harnessing all resources available to the City to ensure a full and thorough investigation of the circumstances of this tragic incident.”
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The NYPD use of force guidelines from 2013’s NYPD Patrol Guide clearly state that, “Members of the New York City Police Department will NOT use chokeholds. A chokehold shall include, but is not limited to, any pressure to the throat or windpipe, which may prevent or hinder breathing or reduce intake of air.” Pantaleo, an 8-year veteran of the department, clearly violated the NYPD rule. He and his partner have been placed on “desk duty” while Internal Affairs looks into the incident.
But is that enough? Is desk duty sufficient punishment for a police officer caught on camera blatantly breaking the rules and using deadly force to kill an innocent man? Or should this officer be behind bars?
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My Lord. I'm almost speechless….smh
A bunch of (mostly White) NY cops aggressively…and absolutely WITHOUT just cause….wrestle an INNOCENT Black man to the ground and KILL HIM!?!
THEY took his life…in front of a number of witnesses (one filmed the entire event)…for NO good reason at all!
Thus far, the main cop….."Officer illegal choke-hold"…. has lost only his badge and gun…and is assigned to desk duty?!
ARE YOU SERIOUS?!
Why hasn't he and EVERY one of his Co-officers-IN-CRIME been arrested, taken into custody and formerly charged with First-degree MURDER?
And WHY hasn't those EMT workers been fired?!