New York medical examiner testifies chokehold led to Eric Garner's death

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York City medical examiner who conducted an autopsy on an unarmed black man who was killed during a 2014 arrest said at a hearing on Wednesday that a police officer’s chokehold set off a “lethal cascade” of events that ended in the man’s death.

Cellphone videos taken by bystanders show Officer Daniel Pantaleo putting his arm around the neck of Eric Garner to subdue and arrest him on suspicion of selling loose cigarettes on a sidewalk of the city’s Staten Island borough.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) is conducting a disciplinary trial for Pantaleo that could lead to his dismissal, nearly five years after Garner’s death. The department has banned officers from using chokeholds for decades, saying the maneuver is too risky.

“In my opinion, that’s a chokehold,” Dr. Floriana Persechino, the medical examiner, said after video footage of the arrest was put on pause during the hearing. She said the chokehold would have been painful and constricted Garner’s airways, triggering “a lethal cascade of events” that led to his death.

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U.S. LEGAL NEWS MAY 15, 2019 / 6:09 AM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO
Jonathan Allen
4 MIN READ


Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-police-garner/new-york-medical-examiner-testifies-chokehold-led-to-eric-garners-death-idUSKCN1SL12V

[Stuart G]

1. If there is a video of the officer doing a "choke hold" (and there is)..then,

fire the officer immediately, and charge him with a crime. He knew what he was doing. He was killing a person who was refusing arrest for selling what? cigarettes?

What is holding the NYPD from doing this? Why are they protecting the killer? Oh, that is what police forces do, protect their own that kill.

[Honeycombe8]

3. There's no reason to think he was intentionally murdering someone.

If he was using protocol, but used it to excess or didn't let up, that's negligence or something along those lines.

But it's so sad. If only the man had said, "Okay, I'll move on. No problem." Then go somewhere else to sell cigarettes.

The police had to stop him, because that's their job. The owner of the business he was standing in front of called for police to remove him. The business sells cigarettes, so this was taking business away. The man had a rap sheet of petty offenses. They didn't automatically arrest him. They told him to leave, as I recall. There's a video.

The whole thing was unavoidable. The man wasn't violent. Just a petty criminal.

[oldsoftie]

5. But using the chokehold had been banned by the NYPD long before this happened.

And once on the ground, there were 5 other cops there.
That one guy should already be in jail. I wouldnt say murder either, but there are lesser charges.

[Honeycombe8]

6. Oh, I see. That makes a difference.

I don't think there were 5 other cops there. I remember a female cop and one or two other male cops standing behind the head cop.

I don't know what NYPD's system is for handling these things. I'm sure NYPD, of all the PDs in the country, has a well established way to handle things.

This is so sad. I remember the man was really large, so I was surprised they had him lying down. It seemed obvious to me that a large person like that couldn't be placed on his stomach or anything like that. Because of his size. I think he said he couldn't breathe?

Here's this article. It says he died partially because of the chokehold,and partially because of the pressure on his chest, because of his medical condition, heart trouble, and obesity. (It also says that altho chokeholds were banned by NYPD, they weren't banned in NYC law...not sure why that matters, though.)

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nyc-police-chokeholds_n_6272000

[pansypoo53219]

7. choke 'hold'? shorty was hanging from his neck.

[MurrayDelph]

8. ...after slapping him in the belly several times

and being told "don't touch me."

Never forget: Eric Garner wasn't killed for "resisting arrest"; he was killed for resisting assault.

[Honeycombe8]

2. So sad.

I thought it was from the fact they laid him face down, and since he was very large, that position suffocated him. But it was actually the chokehold?

This is so sad.

[oldsoftie]

4. No shit. "I cant breathe" usually is a sign! And the video is obvious!!!

And Eric Garner SHOULD have been the focus of the BLM movement instead of Michael Brown. There were so many false stories about Brown, as revealed by the Obama Justice Dept.
Eric Garner was killed on video right in front of many people.
I still think about that fellow often. He did nothing.

[TheBlackAdder]

9. From a CPR standpoint, if you can talk, you can breathe. Worse is collapsed arteries & airways.

.

The "I can't breathe" is a precursor to his airway being shut off or excessive pressure on his chest.

At the point he said that, the officer should have backed off a bit to be safe. Granted, some people will use the "I can't breathe" when they clearly are not being hampered, but Garner was--because the cop was performing a choke hold and not just holding someone down. The officer should have tamed it to just a submissive hold, but many of these people who do choke holds wanted to "choke them out" as bragging rights. You would see youtube videos all the time where people would boast about choking a motherfucker out. The cop also seemed to have an attitude and wanted to experiment using a choke hold.

You definitely don't fuck around with cutting off the arteries in the neck.

.

[oldsoftie]

10. Plus, he wasnt alone with the much larger Garner. He had help right there.

[TheBlackAdder]

11. That was bad too. The cop his possee there to back him up, and none stopped or protected the cop.

.

They just sat back and watched or assisted, without fear of hurting the guy or getting sued for abuse.

.

[Eugene]

12. NYPD lieutenant texted 'not a big deal' after being told of Eric Garner's death

Source: The Guardian

NYPD lieutenant texted ‘not a big deal’ after being told of Eric Garner’s death

Text messages to a sergeant who had been present at the scene in 2014 were disclosed at disciplinary trial for officer Daniel Pantaleo

Oliver Laughland in New York
Thu 16 May 2019 22.33 BST Last modified on Thu 16 May 2019 22.42 BST

A senior New York city police officer involved in the arrest of Eric Garner, the African American man who died after being put in a chokehold by a police officer in 2014, told a subordinate that the incident was “not a big deal” immediately after being informed Garner had gone into cardiac arrest and was probably dead, it emerged on Thursday.

The revelation was contained in a series of text messages between Lt Christopher Bannon of the NYPD, who had dispatched officers to Garner’s location, and a sergeant, Dhanan Saminath, who had been present at the scene. They were disclosed as part of a disciplinary trial for officer Daniel Pantaleo, who is accused of placing Garner in a banned chokehold during the arrest, which led to his death almost five years ago.

Lt Bannon appeared before the court in New York and was asked by prosecutors to read the exchange of July 2014 text messages between the two officers, as many members of the public in the room gasped with anger.

The texts showed that Saminath told his superior: “Danny [Pantaleo] and Justin [D’Amico, another officer involved] went to collar Eric Garner and he resisted. When they took him down Eric went into cardiac arrest. He’s unconscious. Might [be] DOA.”

After another short exchange, Bannon replied: “Not a big deal. We were effecting a lawful arrest.”

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/may/16/eric-garner-death-chokehold-nypd-lieutenant-text-not-a-big-deal