Ed Mullins, the president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, told the New York Post Monday night that the settlement was “obscene” and “shameful.”
“In my view, the city has chosen to abandon its fiscal responsibility to all of its citizens and genuflect to the select few who curry favor with the city government,” Mullins told the Post. “Mr. Garner’s family should not be rewarded simply because he repeatedly chose to break the law and resist arrest.”
Garner was killed by Officer Daniel Pantaleo, who placed him in a chokehold and held him, despite Garner crying out “I can’t breathe” eleven times before he was strangled.
The cause of his death was ruled a homicide by "compression of neck (chokehold), compression of chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police.” In December, a grand jury declined to indict the officer, even though chokeholds are not a legal police tactic.
The settlement is the largest ever for a wrongful death suit involving the NYPD, coming in at $2 million more than what was awarded to the family of Ramarley Graham, an unarmed teenager shot to death in his grandmother’s home.
“It forced us to examine the state of race relations, and the relationship between our police force and the people they serve,” Scott Stringer, the NYC comptroller said in a statement regarding the settlement.
The death, and subsequently the decision not to indict, lead to waves of protests across the globe.
"No sum of money can make this family whole, but hopefully the Garner family can find some peace and finality from today's settlement,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday. “By reaching a resolution, family and other loved ones can move forward even though we know they will never forget this tragic incident."
Mullins’ response was considerably more critical:
“Where is the justice for New York taxpayers? Where is the consistency in the civil system?” Mullins asked the Post.
Many activists agree with him there, but Mullins probably won’t like their suggestion.
With huge figures being paid out by police departments in settlements across the nation, many are calling for police to carry their own professional liability insurance, similar to what doctors carry.
In this scenario, settlements would come from the officers personally. If an officer becomes too much of a liability with too many settlements, the officer would become uninsurable and therefore unemployable as an armed civil servant.
Garner’s family has maintained that the settlement is not a replacement for justice for Eric, and that they will continue to fight for the officers involved to face federal charges.
"Don't congratulate us," Garner's mother, Gwen Carr, told reporters. "This is not a victory. The victory will come when we get justice."
"We are calling for the Department of Justice and (Attorney General) Loretta Lynch to deliver justice for my father," Erica Garner, Eric Garner’s daughter, said in a statement.
