The NYT report from Mike Baker, Jennifer Valentino-DeVries, Manny Fernandez, and Michael LaForgia, also points out that not all cases involved police restraints. Instead, according to the report, many cases stem from the fact that law enforcement often doubts claims of having trouble breathing during an arrest. Instances of cops being spared of murder charges when a victim clearly expressed breathing difficulties is accurate for nearly ever example, despite autopsies repeatedly identified links between the actions of officers and the deaths of detainees who struggled for air. Government investigations often declared that the officers were justified in their actions.

The report mentions Byron Williams, who was murdered when police stopped him when his bicycle did not have lights on it. Officers used their hands and knees to pin him down, ignoring pleas of “I can’t breathe.” Eric Garner said the same three words in 2014 when he was murdered on the New York sidewalk for selling cigarettes. And most recently and now the most famous, George Floyd who was murdered when an officer held his knee against his neck after he allegedly paid at a deli with a counterfeit bill.

In a now-deleted Instagram post, retired New York Police Department spokesman Michael DeBonis condemned the officers that killed Eric Garner with a chokehold, according to the New York Post.

In DeBonis’ post, he wrote that “it was a horrible injustice that is forever a part of our history,” what happened to Garner. Garner’s cries of “I can’t breathe” became a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement, a rallying cry that has been renewed with the death of George Floyd, also at the hands of police officers.

“In writing this post, I’m fully aware that some of my cop friends may call me a traitor, a hypocrite or even un follow me. I’m ok with that because if you don’t agree with what I’m about to say then we definitely don’t see eye to eye when it comes to policing….” DeBonis wrote. “We killed Eric Garner….. His arrest was legal, the initial force used to stop him from resisting was fine, but in the end… WE PUNISHED HIM FOR RESISTING ARREST….”

Eric Garner was detained back in 2014 for selling untaxed cigarettes and was placed in a fatal chokehold by officer Daniel Pantaleo. His cries of “I can’t breathe” became a rallying cry at protests following his death, a rallying cry echoed at protests following the death of George Floyd, also at the hands of police officers.

“WE WATCHED HIM DIE…. WE DIDNT EVEN SIT HIM UP AND RENDER HIM BASIC AID,” DeBonis wrote.

“I’m a hypocrite for saying this now because I didn’t say it publicly then, but WE ALL need to hold ourselves accountable,” DeBonis recognizes.

The officer who administered the fatal chokehold was never charged even though Garner’s death was ruled a homicide and was not fired until last August.

DeBonis’s Instagram account has since been deleted.

Pantaleo’s lawyer, Stuart London, told the New York Post that they filed the lawsuit on Wednesday and argued that Panaleo’s termination following an administrative trial was “arbitrary and capricious.” Police Commissioner James O’Neill fired Pantaleo, who is white, back in August for using the illegal chokehold, saying Pantaleo had broken department rules and could “no longer effectively serve as a New York City police officer.”

London filed the court documents on behalf of Pantaleo in the state supreme court in Manhattan.  “We will have many arguments, not the least of which will be the ridiculousness of the reckless assault convictions … in which all of his contacts with Mr. Garner were appropriate and taught in the academy,” London said. He said that Pantaleo never put any pressure on Garner’s neck and that he likely died from either a lung or heart condition.

“We will have many arguments, not the least of which will be the ridiculousness of the reckless assault convictions … in which all of his contacts with Mr. Garner were appropriate and taught in the academy,” London said. He claims Pantaleo didn’t apply pressure to Garner’s neck and said the victim likely died from a lung or heart condition. “Had Mr. Garner not resisted and not had such a compromised health situation, the result may have been very different,” London said. A spokesman for the law department told CNN it “will defend the Administrative Law Judge’s finding and recommendation and the Police Commissioner’s decision.”

Rev. Al Sharpton of the National Action Network was critical of the decision to file the lawsuit. “Pantaleo’s decision to seek his reinstatement is not only disrespectful to the Police Commissioner and NYPD but also the Garner family,” Sharpton said in a statement. “He has shown no contrition or acknowledgment of his violent actions that ultimately killed Eric Garner.”

This will be #RoeeMessinger’s first time making a film, and instead of portraying the real-events of Garner’s case, Messinger will be portraying what would have happened if a grand jury had indicted Daniel Pantaleo, the officer who murdered Garner during the 2014 arrest. The Hollywood Reporter reports that the film, which is getting a world premiere Oct. 12 at the New York Film Festival, will be using real lawyers, experts, witnesses, and the victim’s widow. The 33-year-old plans to also highlight American police brutality from a foreign perspective – Messinger was born in Israel and raised in Mexico City. No one in the film is an actor except for Anthony Alteri, who plays Pantaleo.

Messinger said he was shocked by the impact and outcome of the Garner case that it motivated him to make the film. “Eric Garner was killed on the summer break between my first and second year of film school, and the non-indictment decision came just before the Christmas break of the second year. I don’t think I was naive about racial relations in the U.S., but it surprised me and disturbed me in a very profound way. One day I realized that I was living in the city where it happened, and it wouldn’t be all that difficult to get in touch with the people who would have participated in a trial, if it had gone to trial. That’s how the film was born,” said Messinger.

The director said he hopes the film will ignite his audience to question race as it relates to the justice system. “What I would really love is if I heard that people went out and continued to talk about it. There are a lot of underlying questions that are in the subtext of the film that are not about whether or not Pantaleo was guilty but much more broad because Eric Garner is one of many incidents. Why was there never a trial? Who decides when a cop is prosecuted or not? How much does race still play a factor in the justice system? If the audience comes out from this film asking themselves those questions, that is what I’m hoping for.”

The Justice Department has decided not to bring federal charges against Pantaleo, ending a years-long case that prompted national protests over excessive force by the police. It also ends all hope the Garner family and their supporters had that Officer Pantaleo would face prosecution.

The case ignited demonstrations and debates over the use of force by police officers and led to changes in policing practices across the United States. Garner, who was 43 at the time, died on a NY sidewalk on July 17, 2014, after Officer Pantaleo wrapped an arm around his neck from behind and took him to the ground while other officers put their weight on him, compressing his chest against the pavement. 

Bystanders recording Mr. Garner captured his last words as he gasped “I can’t breathe.” A medical examiner testified at the disciplinary hearing that the pressure on Mr. Garner’s neck and chest set in motion the fatal asthma attack.

Reportedly none of the New York officers involved in Mr. Garner’s death have been charged with a crime or disciplined by the police department. Furthermore, a state grand jury declined to bring charges against Pantaleo in December 2014, after the officer testified in his own defense that he did not put Garner into a chokehold. The New York Police Department has prohibited the maneuver.

Garner’s family members — including his mother, Gwen Carr, and his widow, Esaw Snipes — were scheduled to meet with federal prosecutors and the Rev. Al Sharpton on Tuesday morning, according to a statement from Mr. Sharpton. Prosecutors from the Eastern District of New York were scheduled to announce the decision after that meeting.

According to the New York Times, it’s ultimately up to Commissioner James P. O’Neill, as the final arbiter of police discipline, to decide whether Officer Pantaleo will be terminated or the department taking a less drastic action, like docking vacation time.

However, O’Neill will not make a formal decision until the police administrative judge renders her verdict, which he is still waiting on, spokesman for the department, Philip T. Walzak, said in a statement. “Because of the need to protect the integrity of the process, the N.Y.P.D. will not comment further at this time,” the statement said.

It’s been five years since Daniel Pantaleo, a white officer, took the life of Garner, an unarmed Black man who screamed “I can’t breathe,” before being brutally choked.

Previously, Pantaleo’s lawyer tried to have the department trial delayed until July, which is when time runs out for federal prosecutors to file civil rights charges against him.  Thankfully a judge rejected the attorney’s demands. According to ABC 7, Pantaleo is charged with reckless use of a chokehold and intentional use of a chokehold in Garner’s July 2014 death in Staten Island.

Garner, 43, was the father of six children and was put in a chokehold after officers were called because Garner was allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes. Since the murder, Pantaleo has been placed on desk duty and been stripped of his gun and badge. If convicted, Pantaleo could face being fired from his police department or lose vacation days.

Garner died after suffering from a heart attack on his way to the hospital after being choked. The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide caused in part by compression of his neck from a chokehold. The trial is set for May 13.

-blogged by @theRealAlexisDanielle

Years after #EricGarner was killed on the street during an encounter with police, civil rights charges are being sought but are expected to be rejected. Now, for his mother, police reform is the goal to bring justice to her son’s death.

In an editorial by the NY Times Gwen Carr recalled the death of her son and reflected in the change that it should bring about.

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“The day that I found out Eric passed, was the most horrific day I had ever experienced,” Carr said of the news of her son’s death. “They have taken my son’s voice away but his mother still has a voice and I’m going to use it.”

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Back in 2014, a state grand jury decided not to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo on homicide charges.

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Previously the case caused a heavy debate between the Obama Justice Department and the state of New York, who argued that the evidence was not strong enough to bring forth charges. Now, the case has landed in the hands of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who has been urged by civil rights prosecutors to seek charges. However, the fate of the case ultimately lies with Mayor Bill de Blasio.

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Carr has a special request for De Blasio.

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“Fire those police officers,” she stated plainly. “Make them stand accountable. Officer Pantaleo is getting away with murder.”

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“If Eric Garner was a white man in the suburbs selling cigarettes on the street, he would have maybe gotten a fine, but he would not have been murdered.

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Carr went on to name nearly a dozen people who have had their lives taken by police including #SandraBland, TamirRice, #AltonSterling, and #MikeBrown. According to Carr, there is no justice for her son because he’s already dead, but she’s fighting for this who are alive.

A post shared by Baller Alert (@balleralert) on May 16, 2018 at 8:39am PDT

Just days after suffering a massive heart attack that left the daughter of Eric Garner with “major brain damage,” activist Erica Garner has passed away.

The 27-year-old, who fought for change after the 2014 death of her father in which an NYPD officer placed him in a fatal chokehold during an arrest, suffered a heart attack last weekend. The heart attack led to cardiac arrest, which was triggered by an asthma attack. At the time she was rushed to Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn, where she died days later of natural causes.

The news was confirmed on the verified account of Erica Garner.

“Erica the world loves you. I love you. I am glad you came into our lives,” the tweet read. “May you find the peace in the next life that you deserved while you were here. I will always love you my sister. Love you.”

“She passed away this morning. The reports are real. We didn’t deserve her,” the tweet continued.

Our prayers and condolences to the Garner Family.

Just days after suffering from a heart attack, new reports reveal that Erica Garner, the daughter of NYPD chokehold victim Eric Garner, has sustained “major brain damage” from the attack.

Last weekend, the 27-year-old activist went into cardiac arrest after the heart attack which was triggered by an asthma attack, family members say. However, the devastating update came from the family around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, revealing the details of the CAT scan.

“Erica suffered major brain damage from a lack of oxygen while in cardiac arrest,” the tweet read. “Please continue to pray hard for Erica and pray for her family and kids just as much.”

Garner has been in a medically-induced coma since Saturday’s incident, however,  Erica’s mother, Esaw Snipes-Garner has maintained that her daughter is “fighting.”