The PBA’s Patrick Lynch: Chokehold? What chokehold?
Yesterday Patrick Lynch, the president of the president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, the union that represents New York Police Department officers held a press conference and denounced the recent New York Medical Examiner’s report that concluded that Eric Garner the unarmed Staten Island civilian had died as a result of a chokehold applied by Officer Daniel Pantaleo.
“It is not a chokehold,” Lynch said. “It was bringing a person to the ground the way we’re trained to do to place him under arrest.”
In response, Communities United for Police Reform released the following statement from spokesperson Priscilla Gonzalez:
“While New Yorkers mourn Eric Garner’s death and demand justice, the same police unions that have consistently stood against common sense reforms are wildly lashing out and making appalling statements that blame and criminalize victims of abusive policing to distract from the real facts and issues. The truth is that they failed to protect officers, and thus the public, from a NYPD quota system that contributed to the explosion of stop-and-frisk abuses. Officers should not be in the position of having to implement hyper-aggressive enforcement of minor infractions that doesn’t promote safety, and communities of color should not be targeted by practices that promote racial profiling for the benefit of a quota system. It’s only right for the NYPD to have zero tolerance for police brutality and the department must be accountable to the New Yorkers it is tasked with protecting and serving. It’s now up to the criminal justice system, Mayor de Blasio and Commissioner Bratton to make a change, provide justice, and send a message that police brutality will not be tolerated with real accountability.”
Communities United for Police Reform is an unprecedented campaign to end discriminatory policing practices in New York, bringing together a movement of community members, lawyers, researchers and activists to work for change. The partners in this campaign come from all 5 boroughs, from all walks of life and represent many of those unfairly targeted the most by the NYPD. This groundbreaking campaign is fighting for reforms that will promote community safety while ensuring that the NYPD protects and serves all New Yorkers.
Visit www.changethenypd.org to learn more about Communities United for Police Reform.
