What to Know
- Supervising sergeant at scene when Eric Garner was placed in banned chokehold by cop will not face disciplinary trial, NYPD concludes
- Sgt. Kizzy Adonis’ punishment she will be docked 20 vacation days for failure to properly supervise Officer Daniel Pantaleo
- Pantaleo, who was accused of placing Garner in a chokehold before his death in 2014, was fired Monday
The supervising sergeant at the scene when Eric Garner was placed in a banned chokehold by a police officer in Staten Island in 2014, will not face a disciplinary trial, the NYPD concluded Wednesday.
“This disciplinary case was adjudicated,” Assistant Commissioner Devora Kaye said in a statement.
Although Kaye's statement was brief and signaled a resolution was reached, it did not reveal the outcome. However, according to a law enforcement source, Sgt. Kizzy Adonis will be docked 20 vacation days for failure to properly supervise former officer Daniel Pantaleo, who was fired Monday.
At the time of the incident on July 2014, Adonis was a newly promoted sergeant who had been assigned to the Staten Island precinct on July 9, 2014, police say, adding that Adonis had no prior disciplinary history and has received positive evaluations in her prior and current assignments.
One law enforcement source close to the Garner case tells NBC 4 New York that Adonis accepting the punishment is “a great deal. They just want to put this to bed.”
According to this source, this deal had long ago been offered but Adonis accepted it now after “seeing the writing on the wall.”
Police say that the NYPD commissioner evaluated Adonis’ supervision of officers under her command that day and found that although it was “lacking in certain areas,” an analysis concluded “that nothing about her actions on that day either caused the use of the banned chokehold or delayed the arrival of medical attention for Mr. Garner.”
However, the news comes two days after NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill said at the press conference announcing Pantaleo's firing that the internal trial for Adonis will take place "soon."
Local
Although Pantaleo’s firing earlier this week came as a relief to Garner’s family, friends and supporters, they said the fight was not over and looked for other officers involved in the incident – including Adonis -- to be held accountable for the roles they played in the outcome of that day.
Rev. Al Sharpton was among those asking for accountability from other officers present.
Following Wednesday’s announcement, Sharpton, who is also the president of the civil right organization National Action Network, issued a statement condemning the punishment.
“The decision by the NYPD to dock Sgt. Kizzy Adonis twenty vacation days is too little too late. In fact, the loss of vacation days is akin to no penalty at all. If the penalty for not doing your job is that you can keep doing your job, it is an injustice to the family of Eric Garner and the residents of New York City. We want all of the officers involved in Eric’s case to be brought to justice,” Sharpton’s statement read in part.
