PBA President on "No True Bill" from Garner grand jury

PBA president Patrick J. Lynch said:

“While we are pleased with the Grand Jury’s decision, there are no winners here today.  There was a loss of life that both a family and a police officer will always have to live with.  It is clear that the officer’s intention was to do nothing more than take Mr. Garner into custody as instructed and that he used the take down technique that he learned in the academy when Mr. Garner refused.  No police officer starts a shift intending to take another human being's life and we are all saddened by this tragedy.”

Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo said: 

“I became a police officer to help people and to protect those who can’t protect themselves.  It is never my intention to harm anyone and I feel very bad about the death of Mr. Garner.  My family and I include him and his family in our prayers and I hope that they will accept my personal condolences for their loss.”