NYPD Training Official: Garner Video Shows 'Chokehold'

By AP
Posted on 05/14/19 | News Source: Vosizneias.com

New York - The head of the New York Police Department’s recruit training says video shows that a restraint technique used on Eric Garner in 2014 “meets the definition of a chokehold.”

Inspector Richard Dee testified Tuesday at Officer Daniel Pantaleo’s internal trial, nearly five years after Garner’s pleas of “I can’t breathe” became a rallying cry against police brutality.

Dee also says that coughing heard on the video indicates Garner’s breathing was restricted by the hold.

Dee says recruits are explicitly warned that chokeholds are banned and they’re instructed to disengage when they realize they’re using a chokehold.

Pantaleo is accused of hastening Garner’s death. His lawyer says the officer used an approved technique known as a “seat-belt hold.”

But Dee says there is no record of Pantaleo’s receiving training in that move.