Daniel Pantaleo: Police officer fired over chokehold death of Eric Garner

The decision comes five years after Eric Garner's death.

(Getty Images)

The New York Police Department has announced that Daniel Pantaleo, the police officer filmed choking Eric Garner to death in 2014, has been fired.

Police Commissioner James O’Neill announced the decision in a press conference on Monday. In a lengthy speech describing the actions that led to Mr Garner's death, which fuelled support for the Black Lives Matter movement as the video of Mr Garner being choked to death spread, Mr O'Neill said that he would be adhering to a previous recommendation from a departmental judge for Mr Pantaleo's firing.

"If I was a police officer, I would probably not be happy," Mr O'Neill told reporters of his decision, which he noted was "a different kind of tragedy" than Mr Garner's death. And indeed, the Police Benevolent Association, a union representing officers in New York, has expressed anger over the decision in the aftermath of the firing.

"I can tell you that had I been in Officer Pantaleo's situation, I may have made similar mistakes," Mr O'Neill, who served as an officer for roughly thirty years, added. "But none of us can take back our decisions, particularly when they result in the death of another human being."

Mr Pantaleo had previously been placed on desk duty after Mr Garner’s death, having held Mr Garner in a choke-hold as the victim cried out “I can’t breathe” eleven times before dying. Mr Garner had been arrested for allegedly selling cigarettes outside a corner store.

New York City’s Civilian Complaint Review Board, which prosecuted the disciplinary case, released a statement following the announcement saying that although the process took "entirely too long," the ultimate decision was "heartening."

"While July 17 is and always will be a sombre day for the city of New York," the statement read, referring to the day in 2014 on which Mr Garner was killed, "today we can rest assured that Daniel Pantaleo will never patrol our streets again."

Emerald Garner, one of Mr Garner's daughters, said in her own press conference that the family would still be calling for a law banning the choke-hold.

"I don't want another Eric Garner," she said. "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. 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. I should be here with my father. But Pantaleo took that away from me on [July 17, 2014]. He's fired, but the fight is not over. We will continue to fight."

Mr Pantaleo's continued role in the NYPD had become a point of contention in both New York and nationwide protests, especially as New York City mayor Bill de Blasio's presidential campaign has persisted. Mr de Blasio, who took office just six months before Mr Garner was killed, has fought criticism of his refusal to fire Mr Pantaleo for much of his time as mayor. His history with the NYPD as a whole, as well as Mr Pantaleo, was the subject of much criticism as the last Democratic debate.

In a press conference following the announcement, Mr de Blasio quoted Martin Luther King Jr, and said he hoped the decision would bring "some small measure of closure and peace to the Garner family."

"It should never happen again in this city or this country," he said. "Let this be the last tragedy."

This post was updated on August 19.