Eric Garner's Mother Furious Over Six-Figure Sum Earned Last Year By Officer Involved In Son's Death
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The mother of Eric Garner expressed fury Wednesday night upon learning that an officer involved in her son's death earned $120,000 last year.
"I am totally, totally outraged!" Gwen Carr said.
The officer, Daniel Pantaleo, reportedly earned the six-figure sum with significant overtime, WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reported.
"The same people who are supposed to uphold the law should be judged and governed by that same law," Carr said.
U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Mayor Bill de Blasio has fallen short when it comes to police reform and transparency, which he called "inconsistent with what we were promised by this administration."
In response, the Mayor's office said, "We are taking aggressive steps to make our criminal justice system fairer and more just."
Garner, a 43-year-old father of six, died in July 2014 in the Tompkinsville section of Staten Island, as police tried to arrest him for selling loose, untaxed cigarettes. Pantaleo used a takedown move that many have described as a chokehold.
Garner told officers "I can't breathe" as he was being arrested.
He was pronounced dead later at a hospital.
The city medical examiner found the apparent police chokehold contributed to Garner's death, but a grand jury declined to indict the officer in the death.
The city paid the Garner family nearly $6 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit.
The Justice Department has been reviewing the case to determine if Garner's civil rights were violated.
