New York City Police Commissioner James O’Neill announced Monday that Daniel Pantaleo, the officer at the center of Eric Garner’s death, has been fired from the police force.
The decision comes more than five years after Garner died during an arrest on Staten Island. The 43-year-old was initially stopped for allegedly selling untaxed, loose cigarettes. After a confrontation, Pantaleo put Garner in a chokehold, which medical examiners said led to Garner having an asthmatic reaction and a heart attack.
Earlier this month, Pantaleo was suspended from the police department following a disciplinary trial judge’s recommendation that he be fired.
“I stand before you today confident that I have reached the correct decision,” O’Neill said. “It is clear that Daniel Pantaleo can no longer effectively serve as a New York City police officer.”
The New York City medical examiner’s office later said Garner’s death was a homicide caused by neck compressions — compressions believed to have been caused by the chokehold. —BBC
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