Inquiry into city misconduct over Eric Garner’s death continues
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A discovery hearing for a judicial inquiry into the death of Eric Garner was rescheduled for June 30. AP Photo by Seth Wenig
By Rachel Vick
The first step in a judicial inquiry into the 2014 death of Eric Garner is moving forward June 30 after being rescheduled due to the city’s alleged failure to respond to discovery requests.
Though initially scheduled for June 9, the Gwen Carr et al. v. Bill de Blasio et al. discovery hearing was postponed after the city officials did not share documents requested by the Carr legal team.
Representation for Garner's family, including Co-Director of the Racial Justice Project at New York Law School Alan Bragg, argue that there are unanswered questions that should have been coerced in the initial investigation.
“The Garner family and the public have been seeking answers for almost seven years,” said Bragg and Gideon Oliver, civil rights attorney and past President of the New York City chapter of the National Lawyers Guild in a statement after the hearing was scheduled.
“We look forward to having discussions with the City about getting the type of discovery that would start to address key issues raised by the petition and thereby facilitate having a meaningful public inquiry,” they added.
Concerns raised by Carr, Garner’s mother, include holding police officers other than Daniel Pantaleo, who were responsible for the death, accountable.
Justice Erika M. Edwards of New York State Supreme Court will preside over the hearing, which comes amid a pending appeal from city officials after New York State Appellate Division, First Department ruled the inquiry could continue.
“So much information about this incident has been made publicly available and there is no evidence that the Mayor or any other City official neglected their duties or violated the law,” Nicholas Paolucci, Law Department spokesperson, told the Eagle. “There is no legal basis for a judicial inquiry to second guess the decisions that the law vests in the Mayor and Police Commissioner.”
The petition looks to examine what it describes as “violations of duty and neglect of duty” relating to Garner’s death, and alleges that the public has been denied information crucial to understanding the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Judicial reviews are allowed through a section of the city charter that aids in exposing misconduct by permitting the Supreme Court to examine any City official or officer if five taxpaying citizens allege misconduct.
Garner died after Pantaleo, who a Staten Island grand jury declined to indict, placed him in an illegal chokehold and did not let go as Garner repeatedly said “I can’t breathe.” The Garner family reached an out-of-court settlement with the city in 2015. Pantaleo was fired in August of 2019.
The official inquiry — where officials including Mayor de Blasio and former NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill would take the stand to testify — is tentatively scheduled for July 19.
Lawyers from petitioners did not respond by print time.
