The NYPD has its sights set on the Civilian Complaint Review Board employee who leaked information about the cop who put homicide victim Eric Garner in a chokehold, officials said.
“The leak was totally inappropriate and illegal,” NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Legal Affairs Larry Byrne said Wednesday. “We are working with the CCRB to identify who the leaker was.”
On Tuesday, an anonymous CCRB worker gave documents related to NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo to ThinkProgress.com.
The papers indicated that seven CCRB complaints — including 14 allegations — were made against Pantaleo before his fatal encounter with Staten Island resident Garner.
Four of the complaints were substantiated, but Pantaleo was only docked two vacation days, the documents show.
Four of the complaints were substantiated, but Pantaleo was only docked two vacation days, the documents show.
Police Commissioner James O’Neill echoed Byrne’s sentiment about the divulged documents.
“The leak was inappropriate,” he said.
“I can’t comment on what we are or are not looking into,” he said. “I am aware of the articles.”
While the CCRB didn’t deny the authenticity of the documents, the Daily News couldn’t independently verify they were legit.
Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch on Tuesday called for a criminal investigation into the leak, saying it was “another demonstration of the CCRB’s inability to function in the fair and impartial manner prescribed by the City Charter.”
Pantaleo confronted Garner on July 17, 2014, on allegations he was selling loose cigarettes outside a Tompkinsville beauty supply store. The 43-year-old father of six — as shown in a viral video first reported by NYDailyNews.com — pleaded for his life after Pantaleo put him in the banned chokehold.
“I can’t breathe,” Garner said repeatedly. The medical examiner’s office ruled his death a homicide.
A Staten Island grand jury declined to indict Pantaleo. A civil rights investigation has been open for nearly three years.
WITH SHAYNA JACOBS