NYPD Officer Sued 3 Times Before Death of Eric Garner

[Rob L 3,811]

Officer Daniel Pantaleo was accused of misconduct on at least three separate occasions before the death of Eric Garner.

A man protests the grand jury decision to not indict New York Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo in Eric Garner's death on Wednesday in Staten Island.

By Andrew Soergel Dec. 5, 2014 | 3:16 p.m. EST+ More

New York Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo was not indicted by a New York grand jury this week in the July death of unarmed black man Eric Garner. But the incident was not the first time Pantaleo was accused of wrongdoing while serving as a member of the New York Police Department.

A New York City medical examiner ruled Garner’s death a homicide, and Pantaleo has been accused of placing Garner in a chokehold prohibited by the NYPD for use on civilians, according to The Washington Post and Fox News.

But a grand jury ultimately absolved Pantaleo of any charges, fanning the frustration and discontent of thousands across the country whose emotions still smoldered after last week’s non-indictment of former Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson in the death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown.

Garner’s death is tied to what undoubtedly is Pantaleo’s most publicized misconduct charge, but it was not his first time being accused. Two men filed a complaint against Pantaleo with the city's Civilian Complaint Review Board back in 2012, alleging the officer “slapped” and “tapped” their testicles in a strip-search conducted following a traffic stop, according to the New York Daily News.

Darren Collins and Tommy Rice said Pantaleo and a group of three other plainclothes police officers pulled them over around 10:50 a.m. on March 22, 2012. Pantaleo said he had been radioed by another officer about a drug transaction he had seen involving the men, but that officer denied witnessing such an event to the review board.

“One of the fundamental, most important things a police officer needs to do is to tell the truth,” said Jason Leventhal, Collins’ and Rice’s attorney, according to the Staten Island Advance. “He has no right to strip-search anyone in the middle of the street.”

Pantaleo denied claims that he conducted a strip-search, removed Rice’s belt, pulled down Rice’s pants and boxers and made contact with his genitals, according to the Daily News. The allegations against him were reportedly deemed unsubstantiated and dismissed.

Criminal charges against Rice and Collins were also dropped, though a third passenger in the vehicle was found to be in possession of heroin.

Rice and Collins in 2013 sued Pantaleo and other officers involved in the stop for conducting “humiliating and unlawful strip searches in public view,” according to USA Today. The lawsuit eventually was settled, with Rice and Collins reportedly taking home $15,000 each in the settlement, according to the Daily News.

Kenneth Collins, a 22-year-old Staten Island resident, filed a lawsuit against Pantaleo and a group of officers in November, also alleging that he “was subjected to a degrading search of his private parts and genitals” during a February 2012 arrest, according to court documents and USA Today.

Collins was reportedly arrested on marijuana charges, but those were dismissed and sealed the day after his arrest.

[ALSO: Did Anti-Tobacco Laws Kill Eric Garner?]

Collins’ lawsuit alleges he was wrongfully arrested because officers were trying to get overtime pay, according to USA Today. City attorneys reportedly have not yet responded to the lawsuit in a court filing.

Another man, Rylawn Walker, said in a federal lawsuit that he was falsely arrested for marijuana possession in February 2012 by Pantaleo and a group of fellow officers in Staten Island. Walker’s lawsuit claims he “was committing no crime at [the time of the arrest] and was not acting in a suspicious manner,” according to USA Today.

Walker’s suit alleges Pantaleo “misrepresented facts in the police reports and other documents that the plaintiff had committed offenses when in fact this was not true,” according to the Staten Island Advance. The lawsuit is still pending, but Staten Island prosecutors moved to dismiss and seal marijuana charges against Walker following the arrest, according to a defense lawyer cited by USA Today.

A reported 23 complaints were substantiated by the Civilian Complaint Review Board against Pantaleo’s precinct between 2009 and 2013, according to the Daily News – the second-highest number in the city.

Edited December 6, 2014 by Rob L

[Janelle2002 3,865]

taped their testicles???? are they that small?

[spookyturtle 9,465]

taped their testicles???? are they that small?

Tapped.

[X Factor 1,110]

The thin blue line is really thin

[Janelle2002 3,865]

NYPD likes to hire thugs as police officers. Noted.

[LibCampFireClub 635]

NYPD likes to hire thugs as police officers. Noted.

You really need to get out more:

NYPD is as diverse as New York City itself: study

Critics of New York’s Finest argue that city cops can’t relate to the Big Apple’s minority communities — but a new study shows that the NYPD is virtually as diverse as the city it serves.

Criticism intensified after Eric Garner, a black man from Staten Island, was killed July 17 when he was placed in a chokehold by a white police officer trying to arrest him for allegedly peddling cigarettes illegally.

Some local leaders, such as the Rev. Al Sharpton, railed against the department, saying Garner’s death was proof that the NYPD’s relations with black and Hispanic residents were poisoned.

But the study — conducted by The Associated Press and involving police departments nationwide — shows that the NYPD’s racial makeup continues to grow closer to that of the city as a whole. The research was conducted after a white cop killed unarmed black teen Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.

The study, based on Census data and 2007 federal figures for police diversity, shows that:

• Whites make up 33 percent of New York City’s population and 54 percent of the NYPD.
• Blacks represent 23 percent of the city’s population and 16 percent of the NYPD.
• Hispanics make up 28 percent of the city’s population and 24 percent of the NYPD.
• Asians represent 13 percent of the population and 4 percent of the NYPD.

The NYPD’s own most-recent numbers show that, as of June 2014, the department has become even more diverse since 2007.

Whites make up 51 percent of the department, Hispanics 26 percent and Asians 6 percent, with the percentage of blacks about the same, according to the newer figures.

http://nypost.com/2014/09/08/nypd-is-as-diverse-as-new-york-city-itself/

Edited December 6, 2014 by ExExpat

[Karee 4,189]

I wonder why no one is protesting about all these girls Bill Cosby raped? That seems like a slam dunk reason to be outraged.

[LibCampFireClub 635]

I wonder why no one is protesting about all these girls Bill Cosby raped? That seems like a slam dunk reason to be outraged.

Like Barkley, he's rich, and most everyone here is too young to remember him.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

You really need to get out more:

Funny I was thinking the same thing about you.

I wonder why no one is protesting about all these girls Bill Cosby raped? That seems like a slam dunk reason to be outraged.

If there is any evidence he did do these things, he should be locked up.

Like Barkley, he's rich, and most everyone here is too young to remember him.

What are you 6? Cosby is 77 years old, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't remember him.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

Funny I was thinking the same thing about you.

If there is any evidence he did do these things, he should be locked up.

What are you 6? Cosby is 77 years old, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't remember him.

thumbs up all around

[Karee 4,189]

If there is any evidence he did do these things, he should be locked up.

That didn't answer my question. Where's the protesters and the outrage from the black community? Or do they only protest when cops protect themselves? (I'm referring to Ferguson)

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

thumbs up all around

You know how it is.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

That didn't answer my question. Where's the protesters and the outrage from the black community? Or do they only protest when cops protect themselves? (I'm referring to Ferguson)

Where's the evidence? DId he go to trial? Produce some of that, and let him slide, then we'll see how it goes.

[LibCampFireClub 635]

Funny I was thinking the same thing about you.

I've actually been out often enough for decades that I've met several black folks who are NOT like you. They actually are in fact NOT in the least bit racist.

If there is any evidence he did do these things, he should be locked up.

Whatsamatta you dude? There are women who actually say he did. Isn't that enough for you? The hell with court and facts, and witnesses who get impeached. Just let people say whatever the hell they want to say and take it to the bank. Right?

What are you 6? Cosby is 77 years old, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't remember him.

I'm quite sure I was listening to Cosby before you were born young man.

[Karee 4,189]

Where's the evidence? DId he go to trial? Produce some of that, and let him slide, then we'll see how it goes.

Thanks for making my point. There was no evidence in Ferguson, yet they flipped out and burned half their town down to the ground. Now they're laying down in streets and train stations interfering with other peoples lives like some kind of spoiled brats that didn't get their way. They think that get's them respect? It makes them look like a bunch of immature children. The "hands up" thing is even more deranged. There was no REAL evidence that guy in Ferguson put his hands up, yet people are walking around with their hands up. It's like everyone overdosed on stupid pills.

This is what the civil rights movement has become? What a freaking joke.