Cop Who Killed Eric Garner Has Received Several Raises

By Sameer Rao Sep 13, 2016

Cop Who Killed Eric Garner Has Received Several Raises

Newly uncovered records indicate that Daniel Pantaleo, the New York Police Department (NYPD) officer who was not indicted after being filmed choking Eric Garner to death in 2014, has received several pay increases while serving on modified duty in the two years since the incident.

Politico reported on the pay increases yesterday (September 12), citing records released as the result of advocates, Garner’s family and news organizations filing briefs demanding the release of Pantaleo’s disciplinary records. The site broke down a series of pay increases over two years, including a 35 percent increase in overtime pay between 2015 and 2016:

Pantaleo earned $119,996 in fiscal year 2016, which includes earnings between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016. His base pay was $78,026 and he earned $23,220 in overtime, according to a review of payroll records. He received an additional $12,853 in unspecified pay, which could include retroactive pay or bonuses.

Pantaleo’s earnings in 2016 represent a 35 percent increase in overtime pay, and a 14 percent overall increase from the previous fiscal year, which began shortly before Garner’s death on July 17, 2014.

In that 12-month period, ending June 30, 2015, Pantaleo earned $105,061, with $76,488 base pay, $17,109 in overtime and $11,673 in additional earnings, records show.

In fiscal year 2014, which was completed before Garner’s death and Pantaleo’s subsequent reassignment, he made $99,915, which included $17,189 in overtime.

The bystander video of Garner’s choking, which inspired demonstrations around the country against police violence, showed Pantaleo putting Garner in the fatal chokehold (which was banned for NYPD use in 1993). Pantaleo was stripped of his gun and badge and placed on modified duty pending a department investigation. A grand jury did not indict Pantaleo, despite significant evidence against him. Politico quoted outgoing police commissioner William "Bill" Bratton‘s July statement that the department concluded internal investigations, although separate federal ones are not yet finished.

"At times, officers are required to work beyond their scheduled tour of duty," an NYPD spokesperson told Politico with regard to Pantaleo’s overtime pay increases. "This includes officers on modified assignment."

Garner’s daughter Erica, who gained renown for her activism and outspoken views on police violence after her father’s killing, derided the revelations and New York City mayor Bill de Blasio (whose spokesperson declined to comment to Politico) in several critical tweets, including the following:

(H/t New York Daily News)

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#ICantBreatheArchiveBill de BlasioChoking DeathCriminalizationDaniel PantaleoEric GarnerErica GarnerNew York CityNew York Police DepartmentPolice ViolenceStaten Island