Gwen Carr, Garner’s mother, told reporters at a rally outside City Hall on Thursday afternoon that she met with the CCRB, and they informed her they cannot prosecute or file administrative charges against him because the NYPD has refused to give the necessary case number.
“What they told us, that they need a case number, they will move swiftly as soon as they receive the case number from NYPD,” Carr said.
The Police Department said it will not take action until the Justice Department determines whether the officers involved in Garner’s death flouted his civil rights.
“Stop procrastinating,” Carr continued. “They’re saying they have to wait on the DOJ. That’s not true. We’ve heard from other cases where the DOJ didn’t even get involved until after the officers were fired. Do that in our case. We’re tired of waiting.”...
Yul-san Liem, co-director of the Justice Committee—which is part of Communities United for Police Reform—said there is no precedent for the city waiting for the Justice Department to make a decision.
She noted the last NYPD officer to be indicted for killing a civilian was Francis Livoti for his 1994 chokehold killing of Anthony Baez, a Bronx man. He was fired from the NYPD almost a year ahead of the indictment in 1997.
Liem also pointed to Michael Slager, the South Carolina cop who fatally shot Walter Scott in 2015 and was fired before the Justice Department filed federal charges. And she added the de Blasio administration claimed they could not take action against officers involved in killing Ramarley Graham in the Bronx in 2012, but his mother discovered “that was a lie.”
“We’ve been marching, the family has been out,” Liem said. “We’ve been doing press conferences. The family has been speaking out. We’re doing what we can, but we need you, the media, to do what you can, too.”