Updated: July 20, 2018

Sources: NYPD will immediately begin disciplinary process against Garner cops

By Misa Wassef

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A couple of days after the four-year anniversary of Eric Garner's death, the NYPD has decided to immediately begin the disciplinary process against two officers in the case, according to multiple law enforcement sources.

The case is expected to begin within the next few days, sources said.

The Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) will lead the case regarding Officer Daniel Pantaleo, and the NYPD Department Advocate will lead the case regarding Sgt. Kizzy Adonis, a department spokesman said.

"We want them to move forward expeditiously," said Gwen Carr, Garner's mother. "But we have just been left hanging -- and we got the sense that nothing was happening. We want all six police officers involved in my son's murder to be held accountable."

The NYPD sent a letter last week to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), informing it that the NYPD planned to move on the Pantaleo case. The letter said those proceedings would begin "on or promptly after September 1, 2018" against the officers.

Stills from video show the last moments of Eric Garner, the man who died in incident with police

But on Wednesday, the DOJ told the NYPD that it had no objection with it moving forward with the disciplinary process.

After being informed that the DOJ had released the hold in the investigation, the CCRB said Thursday that its Administrative Prosecution Unit (APU) will move forward with its prosecution.

"The APU has been ready to prosecute Officer Pantaleo, and we have commenced the process of filing charges," CCRB chairman Fred Davie said in a statement.

The CCRB determined last year that Pantaleo used a banned chokehold during the incident.

The cop has been on desk duty since the incident.

"We hope that the NYPD's eagerness to start the disciplinary process does not mean the outcome has already been decided, without even the pretense of due process," said Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association. "P.O. Pantaleo is entitled to a complete and impartial review of the facts. We are confident that he will be vindicated by such a review, unless the mayor and the NYPD leadership have already decided to prioritize politics over fairness."

Pantaleo's lawyer, Stuart London, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Assistant Chief Kenneth Corey, the NYPD's borough commander, declined to comment about the case at an unrelated event.

Garner, 43, died when cops attempted to arrest him for allegedly selling loose cigarettes in Tompkinsville on July 17, 2014.

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 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.

The Department of Justice commenced a civil rights investigation after a grand jury on Staten Island declined to files charges against Pantaleo in December of that year. The DOJ has not yet brought civil charges, reportedly because some officials are hesitant about proceeding with the case.

"The DOJ has been shamefully slow to bring justice in the case of Eric Garner, while six NYPD police officers have remained on the city's payroll for a whole four years after brutally killing Eric," said the Rev. Al Sharpton, president of National Action Network.

Garner's family agreed in 2015 to accept a $5.9 million settlement in connection with his death.