MANHATTAN, N.Y. — Eric Garner’s mother’s emotions have been percolating for more than four years, but when she finally came face to face with the cop in the viral video taking down her son, she was frozen.
“I was kind of numb,” Gwen Carr said. “It was very, very emotional being in the space with my son’s murderer, but I was able to contain myself.”
Carr and NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo sat quietly just a few feet away from each other during the packed proceeding at One Police Plaza Thursday morning to discuss the cop’s pending administrative trial.
Pantaleo, garbed in a dark blue suit, appeared unemotional and did not address the court. The former 120th Precinct officer remained seated with his head down until the courtroom was cleared after the hearing.
“He was nervous, but optimistic these allegations will finally be litigated in a court room,” his attorney Stuart London told the Advance.
The Civilian Compliant Review Board (CCRB) has charged Pantaleo with using a chokehold to subdue a subject in Garner’s death on July 17, 2014 in Tompkinsville.
The defense maintains he used a seatbelt maneuver to take down Garner during his arrest. A grand jury declined to indict the officer on criminal charges several years ago.
London and the lawyers from the CCRB hashed out the pending litigation during the brief proceeding before the judge set a trial date for May 2019.
London said he wants the CCRB to define if the chokehold charge is “intentional” because it was critical to his client receiving a fair trial.
“How can it be a mistake when a man begs for his life and says he can’t breathe 11 times and you don’t let up,” Carr fired back.
Suzanne O’Hare, deputy chief prosecutor of Administrative Prosecution Unit, said she would be ready in late January or February, but London was concerned about the CCRB’s pending motion to unseal the grand jury records and the feds’ ongoing investigation in the case.
“The family, the community deserve a resolution,” O’Hare said.
O’Hare said her office has turned over more than 27,000 pages of discovery to the defense, while London has more than 40,000 pages of evidence to examine for the trial, including a report by an independent medical examiner. The defense claims their medical examiner found Garner’s trachea and neckbone were intact after the encounter.
The city's medical examiner ruled Garner's death a homicide, determining that he died from "compression of neck (choke hold), compression of chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police."
His weight and pre-existing medical conditions — acute and chronic bronchial asthma and hypertensive cardiovascular disease — also contributed to his death, the medical examiner's report stated.
London was hoping for a July 18, 2019 date, a day after the five-year statute of limitations expires for the feds to arrest Pantaleo on civil charges.
“We don’t (want) to worry about the feds swooping in last minute to arrest my client last minute, it’s a real danger,” London told the court.
The judge said she was not interested in delaying the case any further, and set a date for May 13- 24. She also set aside June 3-5 in case of any conflicts.
“I think we can proceed, and I think we should,” said the judge.
Gwen Carr, left, stands with Rev. Al Sharpton as they address the media after Officer Daniel Pantaleo's hearing at police headquarters Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018. Mira Wassef
Garner, 43, died when cops attempted to arrest him for allegedly selling loose cigarettes near Bay Street and Victory Boulevard in Tompkinsville.
Video taken by witness Ramsey Orta showed Pantaleo wrestle Garner to the ground while Garner could be heard repeatedly shouting “I can’t breathe.”
The parties said they each have 13 witnesses and will need five days to present their case.
A status conference was set for Jan. 31 at 1 Police Plaza.
Meanwhile, Carr is not giving up hope of a federal indictment and feels there would be closure if Pantaleo lost his job. The cop has been on desk duty since the incident.
“I’m hopeful justice will come out of this ...it will just give us closure,” Carr said. “Justice would be all the officers losing their jobs.”
“The city owes them justice,” said Rev. Al Sharpton.