Cop Daniel Pantaleo, the NYPD officer who killed Eric Garner, has been fired.
The move comes five years after Garner's death and was announced Monday by New York City Police Commissioner James O'Neill, perThe Daily Beast. The termination, per the report, is the result of the department determining Pantaleo had violated policy by using a prohibited chokehold.
Earlier this month, a New York administrative judge recommended that Pantaleo be fired. In a statement, Eric's daughter Emerald Garner Snipes expressed the family's support of this recommendation and urged O'Neill to make a decision on it "as soon as possible."
Following Pantaleo's firing, Emerald Garner Snipes offered a statement: "I thank everybody who has been standing with my family for the past 5 years, and everyone who's been screaming 'Fire Pantaleo!' To Commissioner O'Neill, I thank you for firing Officer Pantaleo. You finally made a decision that should have been made 5 years ago." She's now working on getting a federal law in place prohibiting police chokeholds. “I don’t want another Eric Garner," she stated. "I will do everything in my power to stop [there from being] another Eric Garner.”
In July, Emerald started a petition demanding the firing.
Speaking at a press conference Monday, O'Neill shared some general cop-isms.
"I been a cop a long time, and if I was still a cop, I'd probably be mad at me—I would—for not looking out for us," he said. "But I am. It's my responsibility as police commissioner to look after the city and certainly to look after the New York City police officers . . . Some will be angry, and I have a great executive staff. These police officers do a terrific job each and every day and we'll have to work through this."
Previously, a state grand jury declined to indict the officer. Federal officials have also announced they will not be bringing civil rights charges against him.
Following Monday's announcement of Pantaleo's firing, the #icantbreathe hashtag —which became a rallying cry for activists after Eric Garner's death in 2014—received revitalized discussion on police brutality and its ongoing effects on American society.
The Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York tweeted a statement including the remark, "The damage is already done. The NYPD will remain rudderless and frozen, and Commissioner O’Neill will never be able to bring it back. Now it is time for every PO in this city to make their own choice."
RIP Eric Garner.
