Daniel Pantaleo, the former NYPD officer fired over his role in the 2014 arrest of Eric Garner, has filed a lawsuit against the New York Police Department and the police commissioner asking for his job back.
His lawyer, Stuart London, told the New York Post the suit was filed Wednesday in state court in Manhattan. It argues that Pantaleo’s firing after an administrative trial was “arbitrary and capricious.” Police Commissioner James O’Neill fired Pantaleo in August, saying he broke department rules by using a chokehold, which NYPD policy prohibits, and could no longer effectively serve as a New York City police officer.
London says Pantaleo never put pressure on Garner’s neck, that his actions were consistent with what officers are taught at the academy, and that Garner’s death was likely tied to a lung or heart condition. He also argued the outcome might have been different had Garner not resisted. A spokesperson for the city’s law department told CNN it will defend the administrative judge’s findings and the commissioner’s decision.
Rev. Al Sharpton of the National Action Network criticized the lawsuit, saying the move was disrespectful to the Garner family and the NYPD, and that Pantaleo has shown no acknowledgment of the harm caused.
For background, a Staten Island grand jury declined to indict Pantaleo in 2014, and the Justice Department said earlier this year it would not bring federal charges against him.
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