New York, NY – A grand jury cleared a white New York City police officer Wednesday in the videotaped chokehold death of an unarmed black man who had been stopped on suspicion of selling loose, untaxed cigarettes, a lawyer for the victim’s family said.
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The decision in Staten Island not to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo threatened to add to the tensions that have simmered in the city since the July 17 death of Eric Garner — a case that sparked outrage and drew comparisons to the fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
Jonathan Moore, an attorney for Garner’s family, said he was told of the grand jury’s decision.
“I am actually astonished based on the evidence of the video tape, and the medical examiner, that this grand jury at this time wouldn’t indict for anything, is really just astonishing,” Moore said.
The Staten Island District Attorney’s office didn’t immediately respond to a call. There was no immediate comment from Pantaleo’s attorney nor the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, a union that has strongly backed the officer.
The grand jury could have considered a range of charges, from murder to a lesser offense such as reckless endangerment.
A video shot by an onlooker and widely viewed on the Internet showed the 43-year-old Garner telling a group of police officers to leave him alone as they tried to arrest him.
Pantaleo responded by wrapping his arm around Garner’s neck in an apparent chokehold, which is banned under NYPD policy. The heavyset Garner, who had asthma, was heard repeatedly gasping, “I can’t breathe!” A second video surfaced that showed police and paramedics appearing to make no effort to revive Garner while he lay motionless on the ground. He later died at a hospital.
As with Brown’s death in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, the Garner case sparked protests, accusations of racist policing and calls for federal prosecutors to intervene. But unlike the Missouri protests, the demonstrations in New York remained mostly peaceful. The case also prompted Police Commissioner William Bratton to order officers at the nation’s largest police department to undergo retraining on use of force.
The medical examiner ruled Garner’s death a homicide and found that a chokehold contributed to it. A forensic pathologist hired by Garner’s family, Dr. Michael Baden, agreed with those findings, saying there was hemorrhaging on Garner’s neck indicative of neck compressions.
Police union officials and Pantaleo’s lawyer have argued that the officer used a takedown move taught by the police department, not a chokehold, because he was resisting arrest and that Garner’s poor health was the main reason he died.
While details on the grand jurors were not disclosed, Staten Island is the most politically conservative of the city’s five boroughs and home to many police and firefighters. The panel began hearing evidence in late September, including the video, autopsy results and testimony by Pantaleo.
Pantaleo had been stripped of his gun and badge and placed on desk duty while the case was under investigation. He is likely to remain on modified duty while the NYPD conducts an internal investigation that could result in administrative charges.
In anticipation of the announcement on the grand jury decision, police officials met with community leaders on Staten Island to head off a repeat of the response in Ferguson, where a grand jury decided not to indict the white officer who shot the black teen. Demonstrations there turned violent, resulting in more than 100 arrests and destruction of 12 commercial buildings by fire.
The last officer to be indicted in the death of a civilian was Richard Haste, charged in the February 2012 killing of Ramarley Graham in the Bronx. Graham was shot in a tiny bathroom in the three-family home where he lived with his grandmother. He was chased there by Haste who believed he was selling drugs.
Haste said he fired his weapon because he thought he was going to be shot. But no weapons were found in the apartment.
The officer was indicted on manslaughter charges in the summer of 2012, but the charges were dismissed by a judge who said prosecutors improperly instructed the grand jurors. A second grand jury decided not to re-indict the officer.
i think the cop should be indited , but the blacks are wrong to riot
and they will ..yes they will tear the city up
Terrible decision. Death was ruled a homicide by medical examiner. Tape shows choke by čop killed unarmed surrendering man. Very sad.
This may be used to loot, harass or worse Chas Visholom. Be ready and be careful.
I would ask anyone who didn’t watch the video, not to comment.
I’m shocked
All he did, he sold some loose cigarettes, resisted arrest – but didn’t fight, he didn’t punch back or act in a threatening manner, he begged not to be arrested (he is after all mentally ill, and we don’t kill people for being ill, like the Nazis did). He was jumped with a choke hold, and slammed his head to the floor, with “5” officers around him, they couldn’t figure out a better way to subdue someone who was not fighting with them.
Unbelievable.
Imho this case totally differs than the one in Ferguson. The man here was on the ground already and begging for air. The officer could have loosened his grasp around his neck without comprising his safety.
And they definitely are guilty of murder by not administering life saving support while he was laying there dying!
Don’t know how he got away with this one….
Better start boarding up the store windows!
I suspect the authorities are working against their on interests. If people see no justice being done they will do it themselves. Its dangerous…
I don’t get it–the picture of the choke hold is as clear as can be
If that’s not murder, what is?
When someone commits a crime, resists arrest and starts fighting back, the officer must do what is necessary to subdue the crook. When one gets physical with the law all rights are waived
we have a strong army of policing. we cant be treatend by hoodlums and looters. I understand if were in the hands of a grand jury there decision should be highly respected..
I don’t think the ruling states that the cop did nothing wrong. It just means that he’s not a murderer. Yes, the death is a homicide. That just means he was killed by an outside force. It doesn’t mean that a person did something which was likely to kill him or had any intention of hurting him. This case was a tragedy. But the victim was a large man who was resisting arrest. I wouldn’t second guess a jury who were more intimately involved in the case.
This makes no sense but we have to wait for all the information to be released. It “looks” like the officer is absolutely at fault here, as a matter of fact, we have seen this kind of harassment from the NYPD many times especially in Crown Heights and there has to be accountability. Officers need to know that there are consequences for them stepping out of line, and for them allowing their fellow officers for stepping out of line. This man was NOT a threat to these officers and if they did NOT know how to handle the situation, they should have called in a supervisor who could.
The members of the Grand Jury had all the facts and we must all respect their determination. His death was a homicide, but it was accidental and his health condition was a contributing factor. Some people just look for aany excuse to rabble rouse and loot.
It should be noted, that generally, when a prosecutor brings a case to a grand jury – it is usually issues an indictment – in both the case here and in St. Louis, the grand jury did not even issue an indictment so it could not go to trial.
It’s not surprising that the community feels that they were not given a fair hearing. Especially the case in NYC, where there is a video that shows what happened. Hard to understand.
I can’t wait for Sharpton to come to town. Seems like he has been busy these past few weeks. Was wondering what he would do after all the candidates he endorsed and stomped for lost big time.
Now i understand why we Yiden never moved to Staten Island.
How can y’all – sitting around in your comfy environment and having been fed but snippets of a scenario that unfolded miles away from you – sit in judgement of a grand jury that heard testimony and was given a play-by-play rendition of the event as it occurred? Mindlessness of the masses. Boggles the mind.
I suppose since we saw the whole thing happen in video we have formed an opinion. Wouldn’t you agree?