(Photo Credit: Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP)

Officer loses job after wrongful death on the job

Daniel Panteleo, the New York City police officer who put Eric Garner in a chokehold, has been fired five years after Garner’s death. In the summer of 2014, officers approached Garner, who was selling loose cigarettes on the streets of New York City. When Garner allegedly resisted arrest, Pantaleo put Garner in a chokehold, which has been banned from police protocol. After famously saying “I can’t breathe” eleven times, Garner died.

“I can’t breathe” became a rallying cry for activists calling awareness to police brutality.

Pantaleo has never faced criminal charges in Garner’s death. He has, however, lost his job. New York’s police commissioner, James O’Neill, announced the firing on Monday.

“There are absolutely no victors here today, not the Garner family, not the community at large and certainly not the courageous men and women of the police department who put their own lives on the line every single day in service to people of this great city,” O’Neill said.

Garner’s daughter, Emerald, thanked O’Neill for finally taking action and firing Panteleo.

“Commissioner O’Neill, I thank you for doing the right thing,” Emerald Garner said at a press conference. “I truly, sincerely thank you for firing the officer, regardless to however you came up to your decision. You finally made the decision that should’ve been made by five years ago.”