Gwen Carr, Eric Garner’s Mother, Reacts to Today’s Disciplinary Hearing for NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo’s Upcoming Prosecution

New York, NY – Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, released the statement below about today’s NYPD disciplinary hearing for the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB)’s upcoming prosecution of NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo for killing Garner. It was the second hearing of its kind that has been held in recent months on Pantaleo's role in Garner's death.

“NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo should have been fired years ago.  Instead, he has been taking home a six-figure salary with overtime every year since murdering my son, Eric Garner, in 2014.  Today's hearing exposed more of the NYPD cover-up in action. CCRB asked NYPD for the names of who trained Pantaleo at the Academy and in use of force. Instead of identifying the trainers for CCRB, the NYPD gave CCRB a dump list of 33 people who were trainers during that year. This is not a game, but the NYPD is still playing around to try to block justice for Eric.  Pantaleo’s upcoming discipline trial in May must result in him getting fired and leaving the NYPD in disgrace, without a good guy letter or any other other compensation. Any other outcome is unjust and wrong,” said Ms. Carr.

“Pantaleo and Sgt. Kizzy Adonis are the only two officers who currently have pending disciplinary charges for their role in my son's murder. The NYPD blocked CCRB from charging Pantaleo for close to a year, and have not communicated with me at all regarding the status of disciplinary proceedings for Adonis or any other officers,” said Ms. Carr.

“It’s past time for the NYPD to schedule a disciplinary trial for Sgt. Adonis, so she can be fired. Additionally, I am calling for disciplinary charges and the firing of all NYPD officers who used force against my son Eric during the unlawful arrest, lied in official reports, and engaged in other misconduct. It's outrageous that, almost five years later, these officers haven't even been charged by the NYPD.  These delays are part of the overall cover-up by the NYPD that de Blasio is allowing,” said Ms. Carr.

“Let me be crystal clear. It’s not just Pantaleo and Adonis who are responsible for Eric’s death. NYPD officers Justin Damico, Mark Ramos, and Craig Furlani were all reportedly involved in killing my son Eric. They reportedly failed to intervene and were part of jumping on him while handcuffing him during the illegal arrest.  Also, Sgt. Dhanan Saminath reportedly claimed in an official police report that my son “did not appear to be in great distress,” which is a ridiculous lie especially since Eric said 'I can't breathe' at least 11 times,” said Ms. Carr.

“These are just the names of NYPD officers known for playing a role in Eric’s death. For years, Mayor de Blasio has allowed the NYPD to withhold the names of all other officers involved in Eric’s death - those who may have failed to intervene, who tried to cover it up, or engaged in related misconduct. That’s unacceptable. It’s long past time for de Blasio to release the names of all NYPD officers responsible for misconduct related to the death of my son, and to follow through on firing them,” said Ms. Carr.

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About Communities United for Police Reform

Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) is an unprecedented campaign to end discriminatory policing practices in New York, and to build a lasting movement that promotes public safety and policing practices based on cooperation and respect– not discriminatory targeting and harassment.

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