synder vs panataleo case

The Synder v. Pantaleo case began in 2014 and was resolved in 2019. This case centered on an incident which occurred on July 17, 2014, in which a plainclothes officer from the New York Police Department, Daniel Pantaleo, allegedly used a chokehold to take down Eric Garner while attempting to arrest him in Staten Island, New York. Garner would die shortly after and his last words were "I can't breathe". The case would be complex and span 5 years before it was finally resolved in the summer of 2019. It was the first case pertaining to excessive force and civil rights violations brought by the civil rights division of the United States Department of Justice. It was a complicated case because, although a grand jury had declined to indict Pantaleo on criminal charges, a lawsuit filed by the family alleged that Pantaleo violated Garner’s civil rights by using excessive force. Ultimately, the U.S. Justice Department ruled that Pantaleo did not violate Garner’s civil rights. The department stated that there was not enough evidence that Pantaleo acted willfully or that he intended to violate Garner's civil rights. However, the NYPD began disciplinary action against Pantaleo and in August 2019, he was fired.