New York, NY – NYPD Preliminary Report On Staten Island Sidewalk Death Makes No Mention Of “Chokehold”

New York, NY – The preliminary NYPD internal report filed shortly after the death of 43 year-old Eric Garner in Staten Island last Thursday makes no mention of a “chokehold,” and attempts to downplay the severity of Garner’s condition, saying that he didn’t appear to be in “great distress.”

In an EXCLUSIVE containing excerpts from the report, NYDAILYNEWS.com (http://bit.ly/UlHH9D) reports that one of the officers on the scene, Sgt. Dhanan Saminath, told department interviewers that officers were “maintaining control of him” while handcuffed and that he “did not appear to be in great distress.”

Another cop on the scene, Sgt. Kizzy Adonis, is quoted as saying, “The perpetrator’s condition did not seem serious and that he did not appear to get worse.”

Other excerpts from the reports state that “Mr. Garner resisted arrest, refusing to obey directions and struggling with P.O. Justin Damico and P.O. Daniel Pantaleo as they attempted to place him in handcuffs,” and that “P.O. Mark Ramos and P.O. Craig Furlani responded to the scene and helped handcuff Mr. Garner.”

The testimony from an eyewitness who also spoke to investigators, 36 year-old Taisha Allen, strikes a stark contrast to that of the officers.

Allen told investigators that two officers took Garner “by the arms and put him on the ground,” and that Garner “struck his head and shoulder on the ground an was telling the officer’s he couldn’t breathe.”

Allen said the green-shirted officer, Daniel Pantaleo, “had his knee on Mr. Garner’s back and was ordering him to put his hands behind his back.”