Report released detailing investigation into NYPD chokeholds

NEW YORK (WABC) -- A new report was released Monday on the investigation into the NYPD's use of chokeholds, and the city's new inspector general says officers have faced little punishment for past offenses.

The review follows the death of Eric Garner in an apparent chokehold during an arrest in Staten Island, but does not include the case because it was under a criminal investigation during the time the review was being conducted.

Chokeholds are banned in the department, but the review finds inconsistencies between disciplinary actions by the NYPD and the agency that investigates claims of excessive force.

Attorney Victor Brown represents 24-year-old Angel Martinez, the subject of a recent cover story in the Village Voice and one of 10 cases highlighted in the report. Inspector General Phillip Eure, appointed last May, began reviewing use-of-force complaints leveled at officers after the Garner incident. The 10 cases between 2009 and 2014 involved chokehold allegations of the banned practice substantiated by the civilian complaint Review Board.

In each case, the NYPD ignored the CCRB's recommendation for serious punishment.

"The report mentions that part of a problem is that, a lot of times, is that the first thing officers do is resort to a chokehold," Brown said. "And if that's the case, they're not being properly trained."

The report notes that in four of the 10 cases, officers used a chokehold as a first act of physical force when facing only verbal confrontation. But Mayor Bill de Blasio downplayed the findings, saying the cases highlighted were from the previous administration.

"I think it raises a question about how to create consistency once a case is filed, but I don't want to overstate the scope of the report or suggest it is referring to the current moment," he said. "Because I think a lot of changes have occurred."

In the Martinez case, one of the officers went through an administrative trial and was found not guilty of the chokehold charge. Martinez is involved in a civil case against the city.

The review recommends increased collaboration between the NYPD and the review board to streamline investigations and ensure consistencies.

The types of cases varied.

In one, from 2010, officers stopped a man in Brooklyn with a group of friends and asked if they lived in the building. The man showed his identification and when officers searched his name, they found an active warrant. A struggle ensued, and the man said he was grabbed in a chokehold from behind. The review board recommended discipline, but the police commissioner instead instructed the officer on policy.

In 2012, a man said he was wrongly frisked as he was walking his bike along a Queens street. When he resisted, an officer put him in a chokehold. The officer was found not guilty at a departmental trial.

The report notes that the review doesn't try to explain why chokeholds were used, and it doesn't assume the allegations are true.

It also recommends more transparency by the Police Department in determining why it departs from recommendations by the civilian review board, and it suggests the board be better at informing the NYPD's internal affairs division about a report of officer misconduct.

Garner died July 17 after officers tried to arrest him on Staten Island on suspicion of selling loose, untaxed cigarettes. An officer is seen on video wrapping his arm around Garner's neck, then the 43-year-old yelled "I can't breathe!" 11 times before he loses consciousness. He later died. The officer said he wasn't using a chokehold, which is banned under NYPD policy, but rather a legal takedown maneuver. A grand jury declined to indict the officer on criminal charges.

PBA president Patrick Lynch released the following statement about the report:

"As the Inspector General's report itself indicates, no systemic conclusions can be drawn from a review of ten isolated cases drawn from the thousands of unsworn complaints lodged against police officers every year. If anything, the report reveals the dysfunction and anti-police bias that is rampant in the investigations conducted by the CCRB. We were particularly disturbed by the discussion of a case in which the CCRB's board members substantiated a complaint despite the complainant's statement that the subject officer was not the one responsible. As the report notes, the CCRB consistently reaches its conclusions without reference to the circumstances surrounding an allegation. The cases detailed in the report illustrate the importance of this context in understanding what occurs during fluid and often dangerous street encounters. We welcome any training that will help police officers protect themselves and the public in these situations."

(Some information from the Associated Press.)