REPORT:
Witness report that a fight had occurred moments before police arrival in the neighborhood, which had been broken up by a 44-year-old male. A plainclothes officer approached the 44-year-old after the fight and made an accusation that the man was selling loose cigarettes. A friend of the 44-year-old recorded the incident that occurred between the 44-year-old and the officer. During the video, the 44-year-old denies doing anything criminal and asks the officer to "Please leave alone, officer." When the 44-year-old began walking away from the plainclothes officer, a second officer attempted to handcuff the man. When he resisted and stated "Don't touch me, please," the second officer put his arm around the man's neck and attempted to bring him to the ground. In this process, the 44-year-old was hit against a glass window to a shop. Upon release of the 44-year-old, he is paused and silent. The second officer used his hands to move the 44-year-old man's face onto the sidewalk while the man can be heard stating "I can't breathe" eleven times in the recording. An ambulance was called for the man with the officer stating that he was having trouble breathing but "does not appear in great distress." The 44-year-old remained motionless on the ground and unresponsive to verbal or physical prompts. He was unconscious upon the arrival of the emergency responders. The 44-year-old suffered a heart attack and died within one hour of being removed from the scene of the incident. The officers reported, in regard to the man's difficulty breathing, that his condition did not appear to be bad or worsen with time.
INVESTIGATION:
Immediately after the described events, the two officers were placed on desk duty in their precinct. One of the officers was stripped of his badge and gun, but the other was not. The four paramedics that responded to the call regarding the 44-year-old man's difficulty breathing were suspended immediately, though two of those paramedics returned to their regular duties quickly. The other two paramedics were assigned non-medical roles as a result of their judgment during the call. Further investigation was conducted for internal consequences for those two staff members. The officer that was stripped of his badge and gun had his actions reviewed by a grand jury for potential criminal charges due to actions that resulted in the 44-year-old man's death.
RESULTS:
After two months of evidence review, testimonies, and deliberation, the grand jury decided not to pursue criminal charges in regard to the officer's actions. Due to the location of these events, the specific details are confidential and the explanation behind the final decision was not released to the public. No further action was taken in regard to this event.DISCLAIMER: The events described are actually the events that occurred resulting in the death of Eric Garner. He was killed by Daniel Pantaleo who did not face any consequences for taking the life of an innocent teenager.
Comments