Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill makes an announcement at New York City Police Dept. headquarters on Monday. Photo: Richard Drew/AP

Daniel Pantaleo—the police officer involved in the death of Eric Garner, who was killed five years ago on Staten Island during an interaction with police—was fired from the New York City Police Department by Commissioner James O’Neill on Monday.

O’Neill’s decision comes in the wake of an administrative judge’s recommendation earlier this month that Pantaleo be removed from the force following an internal trial over the 2014 incident. 

During a press conference in Manhattan on Monday, O’Neill said he struggled with the decision but ultimately agreed to accept the judge’s recommendation.

“I agree with the deputy commissioner of trials’ legal findings and recommendations,” O’Neill said. “In carrying out the court’s verdict in this case, I take no pleasure. I know many will take issue with this decision and that is their right.”

Garner, whose last words—“I can’t breathe”—became a symbol of the Black Lives Matter movement, was killed after being placed in a choke hold by Pantaleo. Garner was targeted for arrest after allegedly selling loose, or untaxed, cigarettes in a neighborhood in Staten Island.

Garner had initially resisted the arrest, which was when the officers became physical. The interaction ended in his death, which was preceded by warnings that he couldn’t breathe.

A video of the incident went viral shortly after Garner’s death, which spurred an investigation by both state and federal prosecutors. A grand jury declined to indict Pantaleo, and federal prosecutors said the evidence presented by the case wasn’t enough for a conviction on civil rights charges.

After an administrative trial over the incident concluded, Judge Rosemarie Maldonado recommended that Pantaleo be removed from the force. The department’s policy then mandated that O’Neill either accept or reject that recommendation. On Monday, he chose the former.

O’Neill, at times, appeared to empathize with Pantaleo’s case, which he said had been on his mind since he became commissioner in 2016.

“I served for nearly 34 years as a New York City cop before becoming police commissioner,” O’Neill said. “I can say if I had been in Officer Pantaleo’s situation, I might have made similar mistakes.”

Pantaleo had been on desk duty with the NYPD after Garner’s death until earlier this month, when he was suspended following the administrative judge’s recommendation. He’s represented by Stuart London, a partner at Worth, Longworth, & London in Manhattan. London did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

O’Neill, during his remarks Monday, framed the incident as the result of mistakes made by both Garner and Pantaleo. Garner, O’Neill said, shouldn’t have resisted arrest by the officers. But Pantaleo should not have kept his choke hold on Garner once he fell to the ground, O’Neill said.

“Every time I watch that video, I say to myself, as probably all of you do, to Mr. Garner: ‘don’t do it, comply.’ To officer Pantaleo, ‘don’t do it,’” O’Neill said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, speaking at a press conference after O’Neill’s announcement, said the decision to remove Pantaleo from the force was made fairly through the NYPD’s disciplinary process, but he urged residents to work with police to prevent a similar situation from happening again.

“Today we saw the NYPD’s own disciplinary process act fairly and impartially. For years, people have questioned whether a police department can provide justice for all, and we watched a fair and impartial trial,” de Blasio said. “Justice has been done.”

The New York City Police Benevolent Association rebuffed de Blasio’s claim that the decision was made fairly during their own press event Monday afternoon. Pat Lynch, president of the union, even called for a vote of no confidence in O’Neill and de Blasio.

“The evidence showed, and many of you saw and the public saw as well, this was not a crime. This was a chaotic situation. And for the trial commissioner to come out and say a decision that says guilty based on … four seconds is absolutely wrong,” Lynch said. “What you do have to ask for is fairness for all, and we have not received that fairness.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James, who was an outspoken critic of the city’s response to Garner’s death when she was New York City public advocate, said Pantaleo’s firing will fuel more advocacy from her office for additional changes to the state’s criminal justice system.

“While we will never be able to change the events that transpired or bring Mr. Garner back, today, some semblance of justice is finally being served,” James said. “In memory of Eric Garner and the countless others who have unjustly lost their lives, we will continue to fight for reforms to fix our broken criminal justice system and ensure that all of our communities feel safe.”

James was among the first public officials to call for a special prosecutor to be used in cases involving police misconduct. About a year after Garner’s death, Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave the New York Attorney General’s Office exclusive jurisdiction over cases where an unarmed civilian dies during an interaction with police.

While campaigning to be the state’s top lawyer last year, James released a legislative proposal that would have expanded Cuomo’s executive order. Under her plan, the Attorney General’s Office would have jurisdiction over other crimes involving police officers as well, like a sexual assault, even when it didn’t result in a victim’s death.

State lawmakers didn’t approve that reform this year, nor did they codify Cuomo’s executive order into state law, like he wanted. Cuomo said in June he’s planning to modify the executive order in some way, but has yet to provide details.

Rev. Al Sharpton, who has been active with Garner’s family in pushing for Pantaleo to be fired and criminally charged, suggested Monday after O’Neill’s announcement that state and federal lawmakers should make it illegal for police officers to use choke holds.

“It ought to be a state law and federal law that choke holds by police are punishable with a crime, not just termination” Sharpton said.

Public defenders were critical of de Blasio’s handling of the Garner matter in a statement released Monday afternoon. Tina Luongo, attorney-in-charge of the criminal defense practice at the Legal Aid Society, said the city should act differently if faced with another incident similar to what happened to Garner.

“This Administration and future mayors should learn and reflect from the mishandling of this entire tragedy and acknowledge the errors that sowed immense distrust and divisiveness in our city between the public and the NYPD,” Luongo said. “The Mayor’s legacy will have to bear this stain and all of its costs forever.”

READ MORE:

NY AG James, Attorneys Call for Firing of NYPD Officer in Eric Garner Case After Judge’s Recommendation

NY AG James Denounces Federal Prosecutors’ Decision Against Bringing Charges in Eric Garner Case

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