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Oral arguments renew requests for NYPD records tied to Eric Garner’s killing
By
Michelle Bocanegra
Published Sep 7, 2022
Modified Sep 7, 2022
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Photo courtesy of the Justice Committee
By
Michelle Bocanegra
Published Sep 7, 2022
Modified Sep 7, 2022
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The mother of Eric Garner, whose murder by a New York City police officer in 2014 became a catalyst for the Black Lives Matter movement, is pushing for records that she and attorneys said are crucial to understanding the circumstances that led to her son’s death — and the city’s response in the aftermath.
Oral arguments were held on Wednesday in litigation brought on behalf of Gwen Carr, who has been a vocal advocate for police reform in the eight years following her son’s death. Carr was joined by two groups, Communities United for Police Reform and the Justice Committee, in her efforts to obtain records largely related to officers they accuse of enabling the circumstances that led to Garner’s death and what critics have deemed a slow and reluctant process for accountability.
Attorneys for Carr said the remaining records being sought under the Freedom of Information Law, from emails to disciplinary records, would give a fuller picture of the measures taken in response.
Carr has long called for consequences for all the officers connected to Garner’s death. Daniel Pantaleo, the officer who put Garner in the chokehold that ultimately killed him, was fired five years after Garner's death.
“The officers were allowed to keep their jobs,” Carr said in a press conference following the arguments. “The officers were allowed to get raises. One officer was fired — Pantaleo was fired — but before he was fired, he kept his job and he was getting raises every year.”
A judge ordered the city's law department to meet with Carr’s attorneys to narrow the scope of their search for records the police department has deemed too burdensome or inadequately described in the request.
“The remedy is that they’re entitled to every document they requested,” said Jeffrey Scott Dantowitz, representing the city's law department, during court arguments. “This is not so.”
The next court appearance in the dispute is Nov. 17.
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Michelle Bocanegra
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