Investigators: LEO used banned chokehold on Eric Garner
By: The Associated Press, policeone.com
NEW YORK — The New York Police Department official in charge of training recruits said Tuesday that the restraint technique an officer used on Eric Garner five years ago, leading to his death, “meets the definition” of a chokehold, a practice banned since the 1990s because of its potential for lethality.
Cell phone video of the July 2014 confrontation shows Garner coughing after Officer Daniel Pantaleo wrapped an arm around his neck — an indication that pressure on Garner’s windpipe obstructed his breathing, Inspector Richard Dee said in testimony at a disciplinary trial that could lead to Pantaleo’s firing.
“I’m not saying he intentionally did that, but that’s where his arms are,” Dee testfied.
