The family of Eric Garner on Monday reacted to the firing of Officer Daniel Pantaleo, the man who was involved in Garner’s death five years ago.
In 2014, Pantaleo and other officers tried apprehending Garner for allegedly selling “loose” cigarettes but the man refused to comply. After a scuffle, the officer used a chokehold, a move that has been banned by the New York Police Department for over 25 years. While being subdued, Garner told the officers nearly a dozen times that he couldn’t breathe, but Pantaleo maintained the position and Garner died.
New York City Police Commissioner James O’Neill announced Pantaleo’s firing on Monday, a half-decade after the incident.
Garner’s daughter, Emerald, addressed the firing standing, stating, “I thank everyone who has been out on the front line, everybody who’s been screaming ‘fire Pantaleo’ because now he’s fired. And for, you know, Commissioner O’Neal, I thank you for doing the right thing. I truly, sincerely thank you for firing the officer. Regardless of however you came to your decision, you finally made a decision that should have been made five years ago.”
“We can only talk about what we’re going to do moving forward. We’ll be going for the congressional hearings. We will be trying to reopen the case. We’ll be going after the rest of the officers involved because it’s not over,” she continued.
Garner concluded, “It took five years for the officer to be fired. I don’t want another Eric Garner. I will do everything in my power to never see another Eric Garner. I don’t even want to see another video of a person being choked out. Because it wasn’t supposed to happen to him and it’s not supposed to happen. I should not be here standing with my brother fatherless.”
