O’Donnell Calls for Pantaleo’s Firing
Assembly Member Daniel O’Donnell (D-Manhattan Valley, Morningside Heights) released a statement on Friday calling for the firing of Officer Daniel Pantaleo.
Earlier that day, a police administrative judge recommended that Pantaleo be fired for the death of Eric Garner in 2014. Pantaleo confronted Garner over his sale of untaxed, loose cigarettes and put him in a lethal chokehold. Garner reportedly begged for the officer to let him breathe 11 times before he fell unconscious and died.
“Five years after Eric Garner was killed on the streets of this city… his family still lacks justice,” said O’Donnell. “Today’s news does not change that fact. For five years, we have been unable to get a word from our Mayor and Police Commissioner whether they agree he should be removed from the public’s payroll. They passed the buck to the Department of Justice, who in turn failed to achieve the very thing their agency is named after. We can’t call New York the fairest city in the United States without taking a stand in this case. It’s time to fire Pantaleo.”
Pantaleo was suspended without pay later that day.
Rodriguez to Host “Riders Respond” Tour
City Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez (D-Washington Heights, Inwood) will be hosting his third annual “Riders Respond” transit tour this Wednesday and Thursday.
The annual event has Rodriguez riding the subway throughout the five boroughsfor twelve hours straight, surveying riders about the state of their local stations as he goes. The data he gathers will be presented at a future Committee on Transportation hearing.
The event is slated for Wednesday, Aug. 7, and Thursday, Aug. 8, from 6 a.m. – 6 p.m each day.
Espaillat to Hold Vigil for El Paso, Dayton Victims
Representative Adriano Espaillat (D-Washington Heights, Sugar Hill) will be holding a vigil for the victims of the two mass shootings that took place over last weekend.
On Saturday, the country endured two mass shootings back-to-back in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, killing a combined 29 people and injuring at least 53. The former, which specifically targeted Hispanics, was the deadliest terrorist attack on Hispanics in American history.
The vigil is slated for tonight from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. at Bennett Park in Hudson Heights.
