Cop Who Killed Eric Garner Hires Around-the-Clock Security Outfit
NEW YORK — The police officer now infamous for his role in the death of unarmed New York man Eric Garner has hired a 24-hour security detail to protect himself from the public.
Officer Daniel Pantaleo, 30, who last summer choked Eric Garner to death while arresting him for allegedly selling a single loose cigarette, is still employed by the NYPD, but has also hired his own bodyguards to watch over him all day long. The police department has even provided Pantaleo with its own redundant surveillance service while he is on the job, complete with panic button, according to the New York Daily News.
Less than one week ago, the New York Times reported that a witness in Pantaleo’s grand jury trial was reprimanded by prosecutors for describing Pantaleo’s actions — wrapping his arms around Garner’s neck while pressing his face against the ground and holding him there — as a “chokehold.” It was after this report that Pantaleo hired the security detail.
Pantaleo has come under legal scrutiny since he killed the unarmed man as well. A grand jury acquitted Pantaleo on criminal charges for killing Garner in December, which sparked waves of protests and demonstrations across the nation.
In order to quell some of the backlash, Pantaleo is trying to have his attorney step in to prevent his review by the Civilian Complaint Review Board from becoming public record. Another organization, The Legal Aid Society, is also suing to make Pantaleo’s disciplinary record public. Both NYPD internal affairs and a federal civil rights board are investigating Pantaleo’s role in the killing.
