Estate of Eric Garner
BLH attorneys Jonathan C. Moore and Joshua S. Moskovitz represent the Estate of Eric Garner, a Staten Island man killed by NYPD officers in July 2014. The officers accosted Mr. Garner on the sidewalk and accused him of selling loose cigarettes. When they began to arrest him, Officer Daniel Pantaleo placed Mr. Garner in a chokehold, which was long banned by the NYPD.
After taking Mr. Garner to the ground, Officer Pantaleo continued to apply a chokehold as other officers pressed on Mr. Garner’s chest and caused him to stop breathing. Neither the officers, nor the Richmond University Medical Center emergency technicians who later arrived, provided Mr. Garner with the medical care needed to save his life.
The New York City Chief Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Mr. Garner’s death a homicide, and confirmed that the chokehold and the officers’ compression of Mr. Garner’s chest caused his death. The shocking video of Mr. Garner’s death caused outrage and a call for police reform.
Days before the one-year anniversary of Mr. Garner’s death, BLH attorneys reached a historic settlement of $5.9 million with the City of New York and a $1 million settlement with the Richmond University Medical Center. Months earlier, a Staten Island grand jury failed to indict Officer Pantaleo for the murder, which sparked nationwide protests. However, the U.S. Department of Justice continued to investigate and has empaneled a grand jury to decide whether federal civil rights charges should be brought against the officers involved.
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