Family members of Eric Garner, including his five-year-old daughter Legacy and her mother Jewel Miller, protested alongside his supporters in front of the Richmond University Medical Center (RUMCSI) on Staten Island on July 27, 2019. The action was part of the “Eleven Day Shut Down” which began on the fifth anniversary of Mr.Garner’s death on July 17, 2014. The activists demanded the firing of the EMTs, who failed to provide first aid to Mr. Garner while he lay dying on the sidewalk after NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo had put him in an illegal chokehold. In a video taken at the scene, one of the four EMTs, Nicole Palmieri can be seen checking for his pulse, but none of the EMTs provided potentially life-saving medical assistance to the unresponsive Garner. Based on the video footage, roughly two minutes passed before he was put on a stretcher and taken to RUMCSI where he was declared dead.
Holding a banner bearing the names of Mr. Garner and his daughter Erica, who died of a heart attack in December 2017 after working tirelessly to get justice for her dad, activists circled the medical complex chanting “Eric Garner couldn’t breathe fire all the EMTs.” Stopping at the main entrance of the hospital, Garner’s supporters called for the firing of EMT Nicole Palmieri who regained full employment status with RUMCSI after an internal investigation.
Even five years after Mr. Garner’s murder – his death was ruled a homicide by the city’s medical examiner and confirmed by an independent forensic pathologist – the family is still fighting to get justice. NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo, who has been on desk duty since that fateful day, was cleared of all charges by the Department of Justice a day before the fifth anniversary of his death and even received a pay raise two years after he killed Mr. Garner.
Now, it is up to the Mayor of New York City and NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill to make sure that justice will be served. Until now, de Blasio has been passing the buck to the Department of Justice claiming that his hands are tied. In an op-ed for The Nation published on July 25, 2019, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams writes about the many failures of de Blasio administration holding Pantaleo accountable. The outcome of the disciplinary trial is still pending, and Pantaleo could face charges ranging from loss of vacation days to the loss of his job if found guilty.
Further scenes from the action:
