New York State Supreme Court Judge Joan Madden has ordered a judicial review of the Eric Garner case.
Garner, 43, died in 2014 after police attempted to arrest him for allegedly selling cigarettes illegally in Staten Island.
His mother, Gwen Carr, fought for an investigation into New York City’s handling of her son’s arrest, the disciplining of officers involved in his 2014 death, and the lack of medical care he was given by police officers.
Madden ruled in her favor.
“Although the arrest and death of Eric Garner has received considerable attention in the press over the past six years, many facts relating to his arrest and death, and the investigations and any disciplinary actions taken in response to his death, have not been disclosed to the public or to the family of Mr. Garner,” Joan Madden wrote in her decision.
A state grand jury at the time declined to indict former officer Daniel Pantaleo, but the department fired Pantaleo in 2019 following a disciplinary hearing.
The probe will investigate several accusations regarding how the city and police conducted the investigation, including the absence of critical medical aid for Garner, alleged lies in a police report, the unofficial release of Garner’s arrest record and the release of autopsy information by the city’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner.
According to the Gothamist, this could mean that Mayor Bill de Blasio and former NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill may be compelled to testify under oath over the handling of Garner’s death and the subsequent investigation.
