NYPD Chief: A Black Man in NYC ‘Doesn’t Have Anything to Fear From Us’
NYPD Chief: A Black Man in NYC ‘Doesn’t Have Anything to Fear From Us’
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New York Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Bill Bratton attends a press conference on Dec. 4, 2014 in the College Point neighborhood of the Queens borough of in New York.Andrew Burton—Getty Images
NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton addressed on Sunday the nationwide protests sparked by a grand jury’s decision not to indict a white cop in the chokehold-related death of an unarmed black man, Eric Garner.
“Actually, [a black man in New York City] doesn’t have anything to fear from us,” Bratton said in response to a question on CBS’s Face the Nation. “But [protesters] do feel that. And it’s a result of, unfortunately, the stop, question and frisk controversy that overshadows so much of the success in reducing crime in the city for so many years.”
Witness Protesters Taking Over the Streets After the Eric Garner Grand Jury Decision
A group of protesters rally against a grand jury's decision not to indict the police officer involved in the death of Eric Garner occupy the eastbound traffic lanes of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City in the early morning hours of Dec. 4, 2014.Jason DeCrow—APProtestors block 15th Street near Pennsylvania Avenue to protest the Staten Island grand jury's decision not to indict officer Daniel Pantaleo in the Eric Garner chokehold case in Washington on Dec. 3, 2014.Jim Lo Scalzo—EPADemonstrators march through the streets of New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Andrew Burton—Getty ImagesRegina Bates speaks during a demonstration in Oakland, Calif. on Dec. 3, 2014. Elijah Nouvelage—Getty ImagesPolice stand guard on the West Side highway as protesters block traffic in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Shannon Stapleton—ReutersAnwar Thurston, 36, joined demonstrators who gathered to protest the Eric Garner grand jury decision during a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at City Hall in Philadelphia on Dec. 3, 2014.Mark Makela—Getty ImagesA demonstrator cries while gathering to protest the Eric Garner grand jury decision during a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at City Hall in Philadelphia on Dec. 3, 2014.Mark Makela—Getty ImagesDemonstrators block traffic on Highway I-395 in Washington on Dec. 3, 2014. T.J. Kirkpatrick—Getty ImagesProtestors lay down in Grand Central Station during a protest in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014.Timothy A. Clary—AFP/Getty ImagesPeople take part in a protest against the grand jury decision on the death of Eric Garner in midtown Manhattan in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Eric Thayer—ReutersProtesters raise their arms and chant at police officers in Times Square in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Caitlin Ochs—PolarisDemonstrators march in protest on the streets of St. Louis on Dec. 3, 2014. Michael B. Thomas—AFP/Getty ImagesPolice officers block protesters from marching up a highway entrance ramp near Times Square in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Seth Wenig—APA man holding a child walks with protesters as they march past Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Adrees Latif—ReutersAtlanta Police face off with protesters blocking Spring Street in Atlanta on Dec. 3, 2014. Erik S. Lesser—EPAA demonstrator stands next to a makeshift memorial where Eric Garner died during an arrest in July in the Staten Island borough of New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Shannon Stapleton—Reuters
Bratton said the NYPD’s administrative investigation is underway, and it will determine if there were any violations of policies and procedures. The NYPD’s internal probe into Garner’s death will take as many as three to four months to complete, which means it’ll likely conclude before the Justice Department’s civil rights investigation.
“Part of the [NYPD investigation] will be to determine what everybody has seen on the video — is that, in fact, within the framework of what we teach our officers in terms of, ‘How do you take down the person you’re attempting to arrest?'” Bratton explained. “Chokehold is not illegal. It’s not against [New York] law. It’s against department policy and protocol.”
The New York City medical examiner’s office ruled weeks after the incident that Garner’s death was a homicide resulting from the “compression of chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police.”
