New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (left) and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton speak to the media at a news conference to address the recent death of Eric Garner.Photo: Getty Images
That officer and another cop who arrested Eric Garner, 43, were both placed on desk duty following the controversial Thursday arrest, Bratton said at a press conference.
"The two officers who were engaged in the arrest of the deceased - one is an eight year veteran and the other is a four-year veteran - both officers have been assigned to desk duty pending the investigation," Bratton said.
"There's a very high chance that the officer who put him in a chokehold would lose his job," said a law-enforcement source who is familiar with the investigation.
Comment: High chance? Don't hold your breath. NYPD officers love violence:
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"It violates protocol. It violates a direct rule which is never to put somebody in a chokehold."
The Staten Island District Attorney and NYPD Internal Affairs are investigating the arrest.
Police said they handcuffed the 350-pound Garner in Tompkinsville at about 3:30 p.m. yesterday because he was selling untaxed cigarettes, but witnesses told the Post that Garner was not peddling smokes and had tried to break up a fight between two people who ran off before cops arrived.
Garner died of a heart attack as an ambulance took him to Richmond University Medical Center, cops said.
Mayor de Blasio said it was too early to jump to conclusions but did say a video of the arrest was disturbing.
"It was very troubling. I watched it the same way a family member would watch it, and it was very sad to watch it," Hizzoner said.
Comment: Desk duty for murdering a man who was allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes? Welcome to the police state.
Father of six dies after New York police place him in chokehold for selling untaxed cigarettes
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