Families of Delrawn Small, Eric Garner & National & Local Organizations Slam Mayor de Blasio for Police Accountability Failures and Deliver 61,000 petitions to Mayor de Blasio Demanding Firing of All Officers Responsible for the Killings of Delrawn Small
New York, NY – On Wednesday, August 7 at 12 p.m. EST, the families of Delrawn Small and Eric Garner and civil rights advocates took to City Hall to call on Mayor de Blasio to end the obstruction of accountability for the officers who killed Delrawn Small and Eric Garner.
De Blasio responded by walking out of City Hall and turning his back on the demonstrators. Crowds followed him to his car with chants to “fire Daniel Pantaleo” and “fire Wayne Isaacs.”
Representatives of Delrawn Small and Eric Garner’s families, along with advocates from Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) members and partners converged on City Hall and slammed the Mayor for his refusal to acknowledge the NYPD killing of Delrawn Small and his attempts to narrow accountability for Eric Garner exclusively to Pantaleo.
They also gathered to deliver over 61,000 petitions to Mayor de Blasio, demanding the firing of Wayne Isaacs for killing Delrawn Small, as well as Officer Daniel Pantaleo and all other officers who were responsible for misconduct in the killing of Eric Garner. The petitions were delivered to Mayor de Blasio’s office in City Hall, and were collected by national organizations MomsRising, CREDO, Working Families Party, Movement for Black Lives and local organizations Make the Road New York and Communities United for Police Reform.
Valerie Bell, the mother of Sean Bell who was killed in 2006 in a hail of 50 bullets by NYPD officers, spoke on behalf of the mother of Eric Garner, who is mourning the unexpected death of her husband, Ben Carr. Bell read the following statement from Gwen Carr:
“For the first time in five years, I have not been able to be as visible at the front of demands for justice for the murder of my son, Eric. As I mourn the unexpected loss of my husband, it has been a comfort to me that my supporters have continued to pressure the Mayor to fire Pantaleo and the other officers who killed my son. It warms my heart that in this time, tens of thousands of New Yorkers signed the petition and are continuing to stand with me and the siblings of Delrawn Small to demand that Mayor de Blasio fire Wayne Isaacs for murdering Delrawn three years ago - as well as Pantaleo, D'Amico, Bannon, Adonis and other officers who murdered my son, Eric. Mayor de Blasio is trying to take credit for something, but until all of these officers are fired for killing my son and Delrawn Small, he can only take credit for his delays.”
Victoria Davis, Delrawn Small’s sister and Victor Dempsey, his brother, also shared remarks. Victoria Davis read the following statement:
“My brother Delrawn was unarmed and with his four-month-old baby, teen stepdaughter and partner when he was murdered by NYPD Officer Wayne Isaacs three years ago. Delrawn was gunned down by Isaacs and left in the street to bleed out one day before Alton Sterling was killed by police in Louisiana and two days before Philando Castile was killed by police in Minnesota. While officers who killed Alton and Philando are no longer in those police departments, Wayne Isaacs remains on the NYPD with his taxpayer-funded salary. My brother Victor and I have been demanding a meeting with Mayor de Blasio for over a year to explain to him why Wayne Isaacs is a danger to New Yorkers and should be fired, but we have never gotten a response on our request. It's outrageous that three years later, we are forced so hard just to demand that the NYPD bring discipline charges against Isaacs so that the process to fire him can begin. I'm thankful that tens of thousands of people have joined our fight and signed the petition to demand that Isaacs be fired for killing Delrawn and that all the officers involved in killing Eric Garner also be fired. We will not stop until this happens.”
Monifa Bandele, Senior Vice President of MomsRising and a spokesperson for Communities United for Police Reform, Councilmember Brad Lander and Loyda Colon, Co-Director of Justice Committee also shared the following remarks.
Monifa Bandele:
“Two fathers lost their lives to police misconduct and yet, no police officers have been held accountable. Mayor de Blasio made many promises in his campaign to lead New York City. Central to his platform was police reform, increased transparency and greater police accountability. Leading up to his election, he signaled that he would be a champion for justice. However, since his election, our city is experiencing unprecedented levels of police secrecy, and families who have lost their loved ones at the hands of the police have yet to see justice. Two clear examples of these broken promises are the handling of the killings of Eric Garner and Delrawn Small.”
Councilmember Brad Lander:
“Following through on the recommendation to terminate Officer Pantaleo is the bare minimum owned to the Garner family. Every one of the officers who stood by while Eric Garner said ‘I can’t breathe,’ over and over again, should be held responsible. Justice delayed has been justice denied for the Garner family, there is no reason to wait any longer.”
Loyda Colon:
“It's unacceptable that after a half a decade, Pantaleo is the only officer involved in Eric Garner's murder and the subsequent cover-up who is facing termination when so many others should be charged and fired. It's equally unacceptable that after three years, Officer Wayne Isaacs has not been charged by the NYPD for murdering Delrawn Small in cold blood. De Blasio consistently attempts to talk a good game when it comes to police accountability, yet time and time again his actions speak much louder than his lies: the years of delays, lies, and protecting abusive officers have amounted to nothing less than torture for Eric Garner and Delrawn Small's families. We demand Mayor de Blasio take immediate action to ensure that Isaacs, Pantaleo and all officers who participated in Garner’s murder and the subsequent cover-up be fired.”
MORE BACKGROUND:
About Delrawn Small:
On July 4, 2016 in East New York, Brooklyn, 37-year-old Delrawn Small was shot and killed by NYPD Officer Wayne Isaacs. The killing occurred just one day before Alton Sterling was killed by police in Louisiana and two days prior to Philando Castile being killed by police in Minnesota. Officers in both cases are no longer with their respective police departments, while Isaacs is still employed by the NYPD. Isaacs killed Delrawn in front of his loved ones, including his four-month-old son, 14 year old stepdaughter and girlfriend.
Initial accounts from Isaacs and the NYPD claimed that the officer was being physically assaulted when he fired his weapon, but nearby surveillance video, released days after these accounts saturated media coverage of the killing, discredited such accounts. The footage showed that Isaacs shot the unarmed Small within seconds and without provocation, contradicting the initial accounts of Isaacs and the NYPD that the officer was being physically assaulted. After shooting Small, Isaacs left him to bleed to death on the ground, offering no emergency aid and never even communicating that he had shot someone in his 911 call. Isaacs also never sought to provide emergency assistance or check on Small’s health and well-being after firing his weapon, leaving Small to bleed out and die in the street.
Isaacs was charged and prosecuted murder by the NYS Attorney General’s office, however to-date, there has been no official communication from Mayor de Blasio or the NYPD with Delrawn Small’s family, and to their knowledge, no discipline charges have been filed against Wayne Isaacs.
About Eric Garner:
In July 2014, Officer Daniel Pantaleo killed Eric Garner using a chokehold banned by the NYPD for over two decades. While the NYPD claimed that Garner was selling cigarettes, multiple witnesses have testified under oath that Garner had just broken up a fight before the false arrest.
The killing was captured on video, and the video showed a number of officers using force for the illegal arrest, and many who failed to intervene or provide aid while Garner said "I can't breathe" eleven times. NYPD officials and officers also attempted to cover-up the killing, first claiming that Garner died of a heart attack, illegally leaked sealed medical and other records to criminalize Garner, and lied on official reports.
It has been almost five years since Eric Garner was killed and only Officer Daniel Pantaleo has gone through a disciplinary trial related to this case - and that is only because public pressure and the Civilian Complaint Review Board’s substantiation of charges forced the case to trial.
Gwen Carr has issued the following demands:
- The NYPD must fire Officer Pantaleo, without a "good guy letter" and without non-mandatory benefits
- The NYPD must schedule the disciplinary trial for Sgt. Kizzy Adonis, the only other officer with any current pending disciplinary charges - and fire her.
- The NYPD must bring discipline charges against all of the officers who engaged in misconduct related to the killing of Eric Garner and the attempted cover-up, including those who leaked sealed information and lied on official records in an attempt to cover-up the killing - and fire them.
Along with Pantaleo and Sgt. Kizzy Adonis, NYPD officers Justin D'Amico, Mark Ramos, Lt. Christopher Bannon, Craig Furlani, Sgt Dhanan Saminath were all reportedly involved in killing Garner- by either failing to intervene, engaging in the illegal arrest of Eric Garner, and/or other misconduct.
D'Amico lied about Eric selling cigarettes, initiating the illegal arrest of Eric and added a false felony charge after he knew that Garner was dead. During the Pantaleo discipline trial, it was revealed that Lt Bannon sent a text to an officer that Garner’s death was “not a big deal” after being notified he might be DOA. Furlani and Ramos heard Garner say he couldn't breathe and refused to provide aid or intervene on Pantaleo's banned chokehold.
Additionally, Saminath reportedly claimed in an official police report that Garner “did not appear to be in great distress,” which is patently false.
Carr is calling on all of these officers to be fired.
Those are just the names of NYPD officers known to be involved in Garner’s death. Mayor de Blasio has allowed the NYPD to withhold the names of other officers involved in Garner’s killing, who may have failed to intervene, tried to cover it up, or engaged in related misconduct.
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About Communities United for Police Reform
Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) is an unprecedented campaign to end discriminatory policing practices in New York, and to build a lasting movement that promotes public safety and policing practices based on cooperation and respect– not discriminatory targeting and harassment.
CPR brings 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. CPR is fighting for reforms that will promote community safety while ensuring that the NYPD protects and serves all New Yorkers.
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