NYPD Chokehold Cop Not Indicted in Death of Eric Garner
The New York Post reports on the grand jury investigating whether New York Police Department Office Daniel Pantaleo should be indicted in the July death of Eric Garner:
A Staten Island grand jury cleared an NYPD cop Wednesday in the chokehold death of Eric Garner during his caught-on-video arrest for peddling loose cigarettes, The Post has learned.
The panel voted a "no-bill" and dismissed all potential charges against Officer Daniel Pantaleo, sources said.
The blockbuster decision capped weeks of investigation by the special grand jury, which was empaneled in September specifically to review evidence in Garner's racially charged death.
It was unclear exactly what charges prosecutors asked the grand jury to consider filing, or how the vote went.
Garner was being questioned about selling loose cigarettes ("loosies") in Staten Island.
Chokeholds such as the one seen in the image are prohibited in the NYPD's rule book but are not technically illegal. While police originally claimed that the 350-lb., 43-year-old Garner died of a heart attack during the altercation, a coroner ruled the death a homicide and said the chokehold and other police actions were the cause.
Here is cell phone footage of the incident:
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