Daniel Pantaleo
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| “ | [Pantaleo's] use of a chokehold fell so far short of objective reasonableness that this tribunal found it to be reckless — a gross deviation from the standard of conduct established for a New York City police officer. | „ |
| ~ NYPD administrative judge Rosemarie Maldonado. |
Daniel Pantaleo (born in 1985) is a former NYPD officer who was notoriously responsible for the killing of Eric Garner in 2014.
Biography edit
Pantaleo graduated from Monsignor Farrell High School and later the College of Staten Island in 2006 with a bachelor's degree and joined the NYPD.
In 2013, Pantaleo was sued for federal civil rights violations by two African-Americans named Darren Collins and Tommy Rice. The plaintiffs alleged that Pantaleo and another officer falsely arrested them and forced them to strip naked in the street to humiliate them. The officers were also claimed to have touched the men's genitals. Another African-American also sued Pantaleo for wrongful arrest after a 2012 incident in which he arrested the man for marijuana possession with no evidence. Both cases were settled out of court.[1]
On July 17, 2014, Pantaleo and a plainclothes officer named Justin D'Amico attempted to arrest 33-year-old African-American Eric Garner for selling cigarettes without tax stamps. Pantaleo attempted to handcuff Garner, at which point Garner pulled away and asked Pantaleo not to touch him. Pantaleo responded by wrapping his arm around Garner's throat and putting him in a choke hold on the ground. After 15 seconds, he pushed Garner's face into the pavement. Over the next few minutes, Garner could be heard to say "I can't breathe" 11 times before losing consciousness. Another police officer called an ambulance for Garner, who was pronounced dead one hour after arriving in hospital.[2][3]
On August 1, 2014, the New York City Medical Examiner's Office ruled Garner's death a homicide caused by "compression of neck (choke hold), compression of chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police".[4] Garner's family hired former medical examiner Michael Baden to perform an independent autopsy, which reached the same conclusion as the official autopsy.[5] As a result, on August 19 a grand jury was convened to decide whether to indict Pantaleo.
The grand jury began hearing evidence on September 29, with Pantaleo giving evidence for two hours on November 21. After two months, on December 3, the jury declined to press charges against Pantaleo.[6] This sparked a nationwide series of protests about racial injustice due to this and several other incidents in which African-Americans were killed by police. The Department of Justice looked into the case, but did nothing.
In 2019, after five years of waiting for the DoJ to decide whether he would face federal charges, the NYPD finally brought disciplinary action against Pantaleo.[7] During an April 4, 2019, disciplinary hearing Pantaleo's attorneys argued that in an internal report dated December 10, 2014, NYPD Chief Surgeon Eli Kleinman concluded Pantaleo did not use a chokehold on Garner and Garner had suffered no chokehold associated injuries,[8] but medical examiner Dr. Floriana Persechino testified that Garner died from an asthma attack that was caused by Pantaleo placing him in a chokehold.[9] Another witness was Justin D'Amico, who said that he had exaggerated the charges against Garner.[10] The action concluded on June 6, 2019. The administrative judge, Rosemarie Maldonado, recommended that Pantaleo be fired. On August 19, 2019, Department Commissioner James O’Neill fired him.[11]
Pantaleo's attorney, Stuart London, told reporters that his client planned to sue in state court for his reinstatement. However, this threat was never carried out and he remains fired.
Trivia edit
- The killing of Garner bears many similarities to the later murder of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin.
References edit
- ↑ Choke-hold cop sued in prior misconduct cases, USA Today
- ↑ Man's death after apparent chokehold by NYPD officer to be probed, Los Angeles Times
- ↑ Did the NYPD Let Eric Garner Die? Video Shows Police Ignored Pleas to Help Him After Chokehold, Democracy Now
- ↑ Why a Medical Examiner Called Eric Garner's Death a 'Homicide', Time
- ↑ Expert says chokehold caused NYC man's death, Associated Press
- ↑ Lawyer: Cop in chokehold case won't be charged, USA Today
- ↑ NYPD Will Pursue Internal Charges Against Officers In Eric Garner's Death, NPR
- ↑ NYPD chief surgeon determined Officer Pantaleo didn't put Eric Garner in chokehold: attorney, New York Daily News
- ↑ Medical Examiner Testifies Eric Garner Died of Asthma Caused by Officer's Chokehold, The New York Times
- ↑ Officer says he exaggerated charges against Eric Garner after his death, CBS News
- ↑ NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo fired over 2014 Eric Garner chokehold death, CBS News