Police union president says Eric Garner was not put in chokehold Posted 2:39 PM, August 5, 2014, by Tony Gatto, Updated at 02:46pm, August 5, 2014 FacebookTwitterRedditPinterestEmailGoogle Presidents of police unions say Eric Garner was not placed in chokehold. (Ayana Harry/PIX11 News) MANHATTAN (PIX11) — The president of the union representing New York City police officers says Eric Garner was not placed in a chokehold. The explosive charge was made at a news conference Tuesday at PBA headquarters in lower Manhattan. A report by the New York City Medical Examiner released last week ruled that the death was a homicide and listed one of the causes of Garner’s death as a chokehold. PBA President Patrick Lynch called the ME’s report “political.” “Look at the video in real time not frame by frame. The interaction of bringing this person down to the ground, which was necessary to bring him under arrest, was seconds. When you look at it frame-by-frame, some would say it was a long period of time and it was a chokehold. He was a big man that had to be brought to the ground to be placed under arrest by shorter police officers. Sometimes the use of force is necessary, but it’s never pretty to watch,” Lynch said. The PBA president and the Sergeant’s Benevolent Association president criticized the mayor and the police commissioner’s handling of the situation. “There’s a lack of respect for law enforcement resulting from the slanderous, insulting and unjust manner in which police officers are being portrayed by race-baiters, politicians, pundits and even our elected officials,” said Lynch, according to the New York Observer. The union presidents also lashed out at the Rev. Al Sharpton. “Al Sharpton is not a credible individual. He never has been, yet he’s all over the media. He gets front page,” said SBA President Edward Mullins, according the NY Observer. “I do not believe he has credibility. I believe he has an opinion and we will protect his right to give that opinion. But he doesn’t have the right to make up facts. He shouldn’t have the right to sit at the lead table at City Hall and stir up the streets and then it becomes dangerous for police officers,” said Lynch. Sharpton released a statement Tuesday afternoon in response to the news conference. “It is time to have a mature conversation about policing rather than immature name calling and childish attempts to scapegoat. Again, we will continue to pursue a fair federal investigation to determine where the facts lie,” Sharpton said.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 21:01:40 +0000
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