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You had to pity New York Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill as he defended his firing of white Officer Daniel Pantaleo for the chokehold death five years ago of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who had resisted arrest.
Commissioner O’Neil unburdened himself of his angst while leading a televised press conference Monday morning.
He recounted how, on a Long Island street five years ago, Mr. Pantaleo, a much-decorated New York City cop, used a chokehold during a struggle with Garner. The unarmed, 6-foot, 3-inch, 350-pound, 43-year-old man of African descent was resisting arrest.
Mr. Pantaleo testified that he had never used the chokehold on Garner and if he had, he did it unintentionally in the course of the struggle.
It was said that the chokehold helped bring on an asthma attack that killed Garner. He suffered from asthma, heart disease and obesity.
Before that fateful day, he had repeatedly clashed with local merchants and police for illegally selling untaxed cigarettes.
An out-of-state chief medical examiner testified that Garner died of medical problems that had nothing to do with the chokehold.
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See Also:
(1) The Eric Garner case: Another cop fired for doing his job
(2) NYPD Fires Officer Who Choked Eric Garner
(3) The Cost of Bad Intentions
(4) DACA’s dark side: Illegal immigrants use Obama reprieve for criminal activities
