Photo courtesy of Eduardo Munoz/ Associated Press.
NYPD officer Justin D’Amico has admitted to falsifying a police report on Eric Garner. According to Forbes, the admission happened during an inquest hearing on Oct. 26 in New York.
D’Amico and his partner Daniel Pantaleo killed Garner after putting him in a choke-hold back in 2014 for allegedly selling loose cigarettes in Staten Island. On a video of the arrest, Garner is heard saying he couldn’t breathe at least 11 times.
Garner later died due to the actions of the police officers, and D’Amico is now admitting to falsifying the police report of the incident citing being “stressed out.” Garner’s death was classified as a homicide after an autopsy.
Garner was accused of a felony despite only having five packages of Newport cigarettes on him when he died. A felony requires individuals to be caught selling more than 10,000 cigarettes or 400 pounds of tobacco. D’Amico has now said that he made a mistake charging Garner with a felony due to stress and not thinking clearly, making him rush his paperwork.
D’Amico also admitted to lying in his police report when he said that no physical force was
used during the arrest, despite his partner wrestling Garner to the ground and choking him to death. The NYPD officer would not admit that he heard Gardner say he couldn’t breathe 11 times.
D’Amico and his partner left Garner lying on the street for seven minutes before being taken in an ambulance to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival. Pantaleo said he thought Garner was playing possum.
The city settled for $5.9 million in 2015, but neither D’Amico nor his partner, Daniel Pantaleo, were charged with Garner’s death. The inquiry will also allow the men to go free.
A New York City provision allows the public to demand a court hearing to investigate wrongdoing by city officials. However, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Erika Edwards noted that D’Amico and Pantaleo will still be free despite the inquiry.
“Nobody will be charged or found liable. It’s about transparency. It’s about creating a record. It’s about letting the public better understand what happened, and what did not happen, seven years ago.”
Pantaleo was terminated five years after Gardner’s murder for using a choke-hold. D’Amico is still an officer with the NYPD.