Federal civil rights prosecutors have recommended charging a New York police officer in the 2014 chokehold death of Eric Garner, but it’s unclear if top Justice Department officials will be willing to move forward with a case, a person familiar with the matter said Friday.
Prosecutors recently made the recommendation to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, according to the person, who wasn’t authorized to discuss the pending case and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Reaction from Eric Garner’s Mother, Gwen Carr
“If the Trump administration’s Justice Department doesn’t hold NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaelo and others who killed my son accountable by prosecution and conviction, then they are failing to uphold law-and-order for the sake of politics. DOJ officials told me and my family last summer that there would be a final decision by the end of 2017 – it’s outrageous that now they’re reporting that they’re still deciding through the media without reaching out to me at all. This isn’t news, they’re playing political games with the murder of my son. It’s been nearly four years and there still is no justice – it’s unacceptable. It’s beyond time for Pantaleo and other officers to be prosecuted by DOJ, and Mayor de Blasio and the NYPD also need to stop playing politics by hiding behind the Trump administration, and fire Pantaleo and all officers responsible for murdering Eric and related misconduct.”
Reaction from Rev. Al Sharpton
Rev. Al Sharpton and National Action Network (NAN) are cautiously hopeful that federal civil rights prosecutors have recommended charges against New York police officer Daniel Pantaleo for the killing of Eric Garner and are calling upon Attorney General Jeff Sessions to follow the recommendations.
Rev. Al Sharpton and National Action Network (NAN) have been in the forefront of the fight for justice on behalf of the family of the unarmed Eric Garner since his death by chokehold in 2014 and have called for the Department of Justice to charge NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo with civil rights charges.