NYPD To Launch Disciplinary Action In Eric Garner Case
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Four years after Eric Garner died during an arrest on Staten Island that was caught on video, sources say the NYPD will immediately begin disciplinary proceedings against officer Daniel Pantaleo and Sergeant Kizzy Odonis.
Pantaleo is seen on the video putting Garner in an apparent chokehold after confronting him about selling loose cigarettes.
The Police Benevolent Association says it hopes the NYPD's eagerness doesn't mean an outcome has already been decided. The PBA says it is confident that Officer Pantaleo will be vindicated.
Earlier this week Garner's surviving family held a rally outside City Hall calling for justice on the fourth anniversary of his death.
Garner, who had asthma, is heard in the video gasping, "I can't breathe." He was pronounced dead at a hospital. The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide caused in part by the chokehold.
A grand jury declined to indict Pantaleo and the Justice Department launched a civil rights investigation. Garner's death became another rallying cry in the Black Lives Matter movement.