By now surely you have seen the infamous video of the Officer Daniel Pantaleo killing Eric Garner by first placing him in an illegal chokehold and then smothering him as lay helpless on the ground begging for his life.  The Medical Examiner has officially declared Mr. Garner’s death a homicide caused by ‘compression of his neck (chokehold), and compression during physical restraint by police.’  Mayor De Blasio himself admitted an illegal chokehold was used and the video speaks for itself.  Given these facts, it is your responsibility to seek justice for Eric Garner by pressing criminal homicide charges against Officer Daniel Pantaleo.

Mr. Garner was husband, a son, a father of six, a grandfather of two.  We know he was a good person because we know just before he was murdered he broke up a fight, being the kind of upstanding member of the community the police are paid to be, simply out of the kindness of his heart and his love for his people.  Rather than thank him for his brave service to keeping the peace, Daniel Pantaleo and his fellow Officers choose to harass Mr. Garner over an alleged petty offense of selling a single cigarette.

Reasonably agitated by the lack of common decency the officers showed him, Mr. Garner did not resist, but simply would not submit to what he clearly believed was an unlawful arrest. 

Officer Daniel Pantaleo, a person with a history of civil rights violations, clearly did not like Mr. Garner’s insistence that he had rights, that he should be treated with respect, that his life mattered and given the first opportunity he immediately attacked Mr. Garner from behind and put him in an illegal chokehold.

After many deaths, chokeholds were banned for use by NYPD in 1983, except for when the officer’s life was at risk.  That restraint turned out to be insufficient so in 1993 the department went further and banned chokeholds in all circumstances, even when the officer’s life is in danger.  This policy reflects the reality that chokeholds are deadly force.

Officer Daniel Pantaleo had no reasonable cause to fear for his life or his fellow officers.  Even if he did, he still would not have the right to use a chokehold on Mr. Garner.  He did not even go to the chokehold as a last resort measure in the face of a violent threat, but rather as his first response to Mr. Garner passive resistance to his own dehumanization.

Officer Daniel Pantaleo’s inhuman treatment of Mr. Garner continued as he held his chokehold on Mr. Garner even after he fell to the ground and was restrained by several other officers.  He then for no justifiable reason whatsoever can be clearly seen to press all of his weight and strength down on Mr. Garner’s head, smothering him as he begged for mercy, as he begged for his life, with each “I can’t breathe.”

Why did Officer Daniel Pantaleo continue to assault Mr. Garner once he was restrained?  Why did he immediately use a chokehold?  Why was he deaf to Mr. Garner’s calls for compassion?  It seems he meant to send a message to Mr. Garner, that he was wrong, he didn’t have rights, he wasn’t entitled to dignity, his life didn’t matter.

Please send a message to the community and the world that it was Officer Daniel Pantaleo who was wrong, that Mr. Garner did have rights, he did deserve respect, that his life did matter.  Please appropriately prosecute Officer Daniel Pantaleo for the homicide of Mr. Garner caused by the reckless indifference to human life he showed with his unjustifiable use of an illegal chokehold and the subsequent malicious smothering.  

The strength of our social fabric is contingent on the uniform application of the rule of law. If you want the community to cooperate with your office, your actions must demonstrate to them that under your watch the rule of law has meaning, that it means an honorable and consistent application of the law regardless of who the victims or offenders are, that a badge is not a licence to kill. It is time to stop letting criminal police drive a wedge between law enforcement and the community.  It is time to stop letting people get away with murder. It is time to stand for justice. 

"It stops today" - Eric Garner