New York medical examiner testifies chokehold led to Eric Garner's death [View all]

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York City medical examiner who conducted an autopsy on an unarmed black man who was killed during a 2014 arrest said at a hearing on Wednesday that a police officer’s chokehold set off a “lethal cascade” of events that ended in the man’s death.

Cellphone videos taken by bystanders show Officer Daniel Pantaleo putting his arm around the neck of Eric Garner to subdue and arrest him on suspicion of selling loose cigarettes on a sidewalk of the city’s Staten Island borough.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) is conducting a disciplinary trial for Pantaleo that could lead to his dismissal, nearly five years after Garner’s death. The department has banned officers from using chokeholds for decades, saying the maneuver is too risky.

“In my opinion, that’s a chokehold,” Dr. Floriana Persechino, the medical examiner, said after video footage of the arrest was put on pause during the hearing. She said the chokehold would have been painful and constricted Garner’s airways, triggering “a lethal cascade of events” that led to his death.

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U.S. LEGAL NEWS MAY 15, 2019 / 6:09 AM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO
Jonathan Allen
4 MIN READ


Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-police-garner/new-york-medical-examiner-testifies-chokehold-led-to-eric-garners-death-idUSKCN1SL12V