NEW YORK CITY — Officer Daniel Pantaleo, who was not indicted in the death of Eric Garner, was grilled Monday by NYPD Internal Affairs bureau investigators trying to determine whether he violated department guidelines.
Pantaleo, 29, was quizzed for more than two hours by the IAB, sources said. That was about the same amount of time the six-year veteran appeared before the Staten Island grand jury that declined to charge him in Garner’s death.
“He pretty much told the same story he did to the grand jury, his actions, his thoughts, during the Garner encounter,” a law enforcement source said.
Garner died while grappling with police who were trying to arrest him for selling loose cigarettes, in an incident captured on video where Garner repeatedly said, "I can't breathe."
The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide and said it was caused by a chokehold with numerous medical contributing factors.
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton has said it will take weeks before the IAB gathers all the facts to determine whether to hold a departmental trial.
