The family of an asthmatic Staten Island man who
died in an apparent police chokehold intends to sue the city for $75 million for the wrongful death of the 43-year-old father of six.
A notice of claim filed Monday alleges Garner died July 17 as a result of a "negligently and recklessly placed" chokehold during his arrest for selling bootleg cigarettes, the
New York Daily News reports.
In the filing, Eric Garner’s widow, Esaw Snipes, their six children and his mother, Gwen Carr, suggested the New York Police Department's "broken windows" policy was at fault.
"The incident herein may have a direct relationship and/or may have been caused by the 'broken windows' policing policy being implemented and utilized by the ... City of New York and the New York City Police Department," the notice states.
The policy emphasizes an aggressive policing of quality-of-life offenses to prevent more serious ones.
The suit also holds the department's "negligent" hiring and training practices, the Daily News reports.
A cell phone video of Garner's arrest in Staten Island shows plainclothes Officer Daniel Pantaleo putting the 6-foot-3, 350-pound man in an apparent chokehold and taking him down to the sidewalk with the help of partner Justin D’Amico and other officers at the scene.
Garner is heard on the video repeatedly saying "I can’t breathe" as the cops held him down. He later died at a nearby hospital.
"The officers involved failed to properly report the use of a banned chokehold maneuver to superiors, so as to attempt to create a coverup," the notice reads, according to the Daily News.
"In addition, the police officers present when the banned chokehold was used failed to stop the use of this banned maneuver so as to become tacit collaborators."
Pantaleo and D’Amico have been put on modified duty. Pantaleo was also stripped of his badge and gun, the Daily News reports.
The notice of claim was signed by the Garner family’s lawyer, Sanford Rubenstein, who is under investigation on
allegations he raped a woman in his Manhattan penthouse.
The family hasn't yet said if it'll keep Rubenstein as its lawyer.
The case has put the NYPD under scrutiny for excessive force and led Police Commissioner Bill Bratton to announce the retraining of 20,000 officers in the use of force,
The Wall Street Journal reports.
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