The police accused of suffocating Eric Garner, who died after a vigorous arrest in 2014 in New York in a case that catalyzed the #BlackLivesMatter movement, was fired, announced Monday, August 19 the police chief in New York.
Chief James O'Neill said he decided to follow the recommendation of an administrative judge, following a disciplinary trial that ended in June, on this emblematic case of police brutality against blacks in the United States. United.
"I agree" with the recommendation, the police officer Daniel "Pantaleo can no longer serve effectively as a police officer in New York," said James O'Neill at a press conference.
He nevertheless emphasized at length how difficult the decision was for police officers who have "one of the most difficult jobs in the world" and have to make difficult decisions "in an instant".
The police officer's explanations considered "not plausible and misleading"
Many civil rights groups have called on James O'Neill to follow this recommendation, rather than the less time-consuming sanctions discussed.
In a 46-page notice, of which excerpts were published by the American media, Judge Rosemarie Maldonado found that the police officer had provided, during an internal investigation on this event, explanations "not plausible and misleading". She also found "unreliable" testimonies of other police officers questioned on the facts.
The demands for layoffs, particularly in the black American community, were all the stronger because the US Department of Justice had indicated in mid-July that it was giving up prosecutions.
"I can not breathe"
On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner, 43, was violently grounded by police officers who suspected him of illegally selling cigarettes in a Staten Island neighborhood.
Obese and asthmatic, the man, who refused to be arrested but was not armed, had lost consciousness while five people were working to handcuff him, before dying.
The images of the interpellation, filmed by a friend and put online shortly thereafter, had circumnavigated the world. We hear Eric Garner, father of six, say "I can not breathe".
The policeman had subsequently kept his job, but was stationed in an office, before being suspended pending James O'Neill's decision.
The case was also sensitive for New York's Democratic mayor, Bill de Blasio, a presidential candidate of 2020, who positions himself as a great defender of minorities and continues to cite his record of crime in New York among his strong points.
With AFP