BY LINCOLN ANDERSON | Following the no indictment in Eric Garner’s killing, local politicians expressed their shock, sadness and outrage, and called for a federal investigation. They also all stressed that, despite the anger many people feel, protests should remain peaceful.
“The Staten Island grand jury’s decision not to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the chokehold death of Eric Garner is a decision that I disagree with, but will respect,” said Gale Brewer, the Manhattan borough president.
“This is yet another instance where the outcome is utterly, tragically out of proportion to the offense — in this case, for selling loose cigarettes on a commercial strip on Staten Island.
“As I said after the Ferguson grand jury’s decision, we need reforms, we need training, but mostly we as a country need to address our racial disparities and the very real and devastating actions that are the result. We need to demonstrate our outrage peacefully and constructively and move ahead to make change.”
Councilmember Rosie Mendez said that unless Pantaleo is kicked off the force, Police Commissioner Bratton must be fired.
“I am deeply disappointed in a failure to indict Daniel Pantaleo for the chokehold maneuver that led to the death of Eric Garner and for the failure of several N.Y.P.D. officers on the scene to intervene when Eric Garner repeatedly stated that he couldn’t breathe,” Mendez said. “This decision has marked another moment in New York and U.S. history where a person of color is killed and no one is held accountable.
“The decision to not indict Daniel Pantaleo or Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, echoes a message to communities of color that our lives are not valued. We have seen this time and time again with the killings of Sean Bell, Amadou Diallo, Anthony Baez and Federico Periera.
“I urge the Department of Justice to help bring justice not just to the family of Eric Garner, but to the Ramarley Graham family as well,” Mendez said, referring to the fatal shooting of Graham, who was unarmed, in his Bronx bathroom by police without a warrant to enter the apartment.
“I call on Commissioner Bratton to permanently suspend Daniel Pantaleo and suspend the other officers at the scene,” Mendez said. “New Yorkers need action and answers, otherwise Commissioner Bratton must go.”
Congressmember Nydia Velazquez said a “national conversation” on race and policing is needed.
“This is not just a New York City problem,” she said. “The recent tragedies in Ferguson and Cleveland [where police killed a 12-year-old who had a toy gun] remind us that the deep rift of distrust between our communities and local law enforcement is a national problem — and one that demands a national conversation on race and police practices. Whether it is the Eric Garner case or the incident surrounding Akai Gurley, the young man from my district shot by a police officer…it is clear that issues of police abuse against minorities remain prevalent and demand a thorough response. In this case, the federal government should swiftly and thoroughly investigate to determine whether Eric Garner’s civil rights were violated.
“I would also call on Mayor de Blasio to end the policy of ‘broken windows’ policing,” Velazquez said, “which too often results in law enforcement harassment of young men of color and fails to make communities safer.”
Councilmember Margaret Chin said, “It’s shameful to allow N.Y.P.D. Officer Daniel Pantaleo a free pass rather than force him to stand trial for his actions. It’s a miscarriage of justice for the family of Eric Garner. It’s a disheartening blow to every New Yorker of color who knows that, for them, true equality has sadly not yet come.”
Congressmember Carolyn Maloney said, “Eric Garner’s death was a tragedy and today [Dec. 3] is a difficult day for many New Yorkers. I believe the Justice Department should investigate this matter further. A complete accounting of the circumstances surrounding Eric Garner’s death and how a similar tragedy can be prevented in the future must also be undertaken.”
Congressmember Jerrold Nadler said it’s incredible there wasn’t an indictment given there was a clear video of what happened.
“The grand jury’s failure to indict the officer in the Eric Garner case is shocking and almost unfathomable,” he said. “Here you have a case of a videotape of an officer using an illegal chokehold — a hold that is known to be able to cause death, a hold that is illegal for cops to use — which caused the death of Eric Garner. It is hard to understand how there cannot be probable cause that a crime was committed — especially when there is a videotape. The fact that there won’t even be a trial is shocking.
“I urge the Justice Department, which is already investigating the case, to proceed as quickly as possible with a view toward indictment for possible civil rights violations.”
