De Blasio Lauds 'Step Toward Justice' For Eric Garner After NYPD Ruling

“Until today, the Garner family has been failed by this entire process,” de Blasio says after an NYPD judge recommended Daniel Pantaleo should be fired, adding it “reinforced a suspicion that justice doesn’t exist for people who like Eric Garner”

An administrative judge on Friday recommended firing the New York City police officer accused of using a chokehold in the 2014 death of an unarmed black man whose dying pleas of “I can’t breathe” became a rallying cry against alleged police brutality.

Soon after the recommendation became public, the police department suspended Officer Daniel Pantaleo, saying such a move was standard in disciplinary cases where termination has been recommended. A spokesman reiterated that the final punishment decision rests with the commissioner and said the department would not comment further until he makes his decision

The judge’s findings in Pantaleo’s disciplinary case were provided to his lawyer and the city agency that acted as a prosecutor at his department trial last spring.

“Today’s decision confirms what the Civilian Complaint Review Board always has maintained: Officer Daniel Pantaleo committed misconduct on July 17, 2014, and his actions caused the death of Eric Garner,” said Fred Davie, chairman of the review board that served as the prosecutor.

Pantaleo’s lawyer will have about two weeks to submit responses before Police Commissioner James O’Neill makes his decision.

“All of New York City understandably seeks closure to this difficult chapter in our city’s history,” said Deputy Commissioner Phillip Walzak.

The administrative judge, NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Trials Rosemarie Maldonado, had been tasked with deciding whether Pantaleo used a banned chokehold to take Eric Garner to the ground during a tense confrontation on a Staten Island street.

Pantaleo’s lawyers had argued he used an approved “seat belt” technique to subdue Garner, who refused to be handcuffed after officers accused him of selling untaxed cigarettes.

Videos taken by bystanders showed Garner crying out “I can’t breathe” at least 11 times before he fell unconscious. The medical examiner’s office said a chokehold contributed to Garner’s death.

The head of the Police Benevolent Association, the city’s largest police union, called the judge’s recommendation “purely political insanity” and warned that if O’Neill fires Pantaleo it will paralyze the department.

“He knows the message that this decision sends to every cop: We are expendable, and we cannot expect any support from the city we protect. He knows that if he affirms this horrendous decision, he will lose his police department,” PBA President Patrick J. Lynch said.

Pantaleo’s lawyer, Stuart London, was scheduled to speak Friday afternoon.

Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, said the judge’s report brought her “some relief” but was overdue and fell short of true accountability.

“It’s past time for Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NYPD to end their obstruction, stop spreading misleading talking points and finally take action for my son,” she said in a statement.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, appearing with two of Garner’s children, called on the police commissioner to “immediately and unequivocally accept the recommendation of the judge and do it right away.”

“This decision is a decision that is good for the citizens of the city, but make no mistake about it, this is not justice for the Garner family,” he said. “Justice for the Garner family would have been a federal proceeding or a criminal proceeding in the local courts.”

Last month, the day before the fifth anniversary of Garner’s death, federal prosecutors announced they would not bring criminal charges against Pantaleo, 33, following a five-year civil rights investigation.

Pantaleo initially tried to use two approved restraint tactics on Garner, much larger at 6-foot-2 and about 400 pounds but ended up wrapping his arm around Garner’s neck for about seven seconds as they struggled against a glass storefront window and fell to the sidewalk.

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