Fire the Officer in the Eric Garner Case? De Blasio Falters
New York Times
In the five years since Eric Garner died at the hands of several police officers on Staten Island, Mayor Bill de Blasio has often spoken about how the incident was profoundly personal to him, as the father of a biracial son.
He mentioned it in 2014, after a grand jury in Staten Island declined to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo in Mr. Garners death, and has continued to do so on the 2020 campaign trail as a long-shot presidential candidate, trying to appeal to the far left.
But Mr. Garners death also highlights a potential vulnerability for the mayor: He has never called for Officer Pantaleo to be fired, declining again on Wednesday to do so, saying it was important to respect the officers right to due process. He also delayed for years a departmental trial that could have led to the officers dismissal; the trial finally began in May, and is now awaiting an administrative judges decision.
But with the Justice Departments decision on Tuesday to decline to bring federal civil rights charges against Officer Pantaleo, Mr. de Blasios stance has come under closer scrutiny and criticism from Mr. Garners relatives, and even from Democratic colleagues of the mayor.