Cops In Eric Garner Death Will Face Discipline 'Immediately'

NEW YORK, NY — The NYPD will no longer wait until the fall to start internal disciplinary proceedings against two cops involved in Eric Garner's 2014 death. The Police Department will "immediately" start the disciplinary process against Officer Daniel Pantaleo — who put Garner in a banned chokehold — and Sgt. Kizzy Adonis, with proceedings to begin in the coming days, an NYPD spokesman said Thursday.

The move came just three days after the NYPD said it would move to discipline the cops "on or shortly after" Sept 1. if the U.S. Department of Justice, which has been investigating the case for nearly four years, did not announce criminal charges by the end of August.

The NYPD has said it put off disciplinary proceedings at the Justice Department's request to avoid interfering with the federal probe.

Federal officials confirmed to the Police Department yesterday that it was free to conduct its internal process, the NYPD spokesman said. The Justice Department had reportedly said it told the NYPD as much this spring.

"Since they’re saying it no longer in their view has a bearing on their actions, we will now proceed with the disciplinary actions immediately," Mayor Bill de Blasio said at an unrelated news conference. "There’s no reason to wait anymore."

The move means the cops will finally face accountability for Garner's death four years after it sparked nationwide outrage that helped fuel the Black Lives Matter movement.

The NYPD would not reveal the specific charges against either cop, citing a state law that generally shields police personnel records from public view.

The NYPD's disciplinary process involves an internal trial that could lead to a range of penalties, including termination.

Pantaleo, who the NYPD said is on modified duty, is seen on cellphone video with his arm wrapped around Garner's neck on July 17, 2014 as police tried to arrest him for selling untaxed cigarettes on Staten Island. The 43-year-old father repeatedly said "I can't breathe" as cops held him to the ground.

Adonis, who was a supervising officer at the scene of the altercation, was served departmental charges in January 2016, the New York Daily News reported at the time. She is currently on full duty, the NYPD said.

The Civilian Complaint Review Board, an independent police oversight agency, has recommended charges against Pantaleo. The board will take the lead in his case, while the NYPD's Department Advocate will take the lead in Adonis', the NYPD spokesman said.

The review board's Administrative Prosecution Unit "has been ready to prosecute Officer Pantaleo, and we have commenced the process of filing charges," board Chair Fred Davie said in a statement Thursday.

De Blasio said only two cops would face discipline for Garner's death. But several others are seen on video either piling onto Garner or standing by without giving him aid. And a preliminary police report made no mention of any contact with Garner's neck, The New York Times reported in 2015.

The NYPD's proceedings won't preclude the Justice Department from bringing criminal charges, de Blasio said. Top justice officials are reportedly hesitant to move forward with a case that could prove tough to win despite federal civil rights prosecutors recommending charges against Pantaleo.

"In terms of who might be potentially prosecuted, how many people, how, that is a live question in terms of DOJ," de Blasio said. "But for NYPD, I think the situation is fixed now."

The NYPD's shift was too little, too late for Garner's mother, Gwen Carr. She called it "unacceptable" that other cops complicit in her son's death would apparently go scot-free.

"It’s past time for de Blasio and the NYPD to stop playing games with my son's death and release the names of all the officers responsible for his murder, tried to cover it up, and engaged in other related misconduct, and bring disciplinary charges to fire all of them," Carr said in a statement Thursday.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the name and title of a Civilian Complaint Review Board official. The board's chair is Fred Davie, not Richard Davie.

(Lead image: A woman holds a sign at a Brooklyn rally a year after Eric Garner's death. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)