The Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York on Monday angrily attacked New York City Police Department Commissioner James O’Neill after he fired Daniel Pantaleo, the police officer who killed Eric Garner by placing him in a choke hold in 2014.
In a statement released shortly after Pantaleo's firing, NYC PBA President Patrick Lynch accused the commissioner of choosing "politics and his own self-interest over the police officers he claims to lead."
He then claimed O'Neill was bowing to the pressure of "cop haters" and said he had "opened the door for politicians to dictate the outcome of every single NYPD disciplinary proceeding."
Lynch also predicted that morale at NYPD would completely fall apart because Lynch had followed the recommendation of an administrative judge who said that Pantaleo should be fired for his role in Garner's death.
"The damage is already done," Lynch said. "The NYPD will remain rudderless and frozen, and Commissioner O’Neill will never be able to bring it back. Now it is time for every PO in this city to make their own choice."
During a Monday afternoon press conference, O'Neill insisted that he did not believe that Pantaleo intended to grievously harm Garner while he was resisting arrest, but then went on to say that there was no reason for the officer to continue keeping Garner in a choke hold while he was on the ground and complaining that he was having difficulty breathing.
“The unintended consequence of Garner’s death must have a consequence of its own,” O’Neill said. “It is clear that Daniel Pantaleo can no longer effectively serve as a NYC police officer.”
