Justice for Eric Garner? Not even close

Errol Louis is the host of"Inside City Hall," a nightly political show on NY1, a New York all-news channel. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion articles on CNN.

The agonizing, unnecessary, five-year wait before the New York Police Department finally fired Daniel Pantaleo -- the cop accused of fatally choking Eric Garner with an illegal chokehold, horrifyingly captured on video in 2014 -- illustrates how hard it will be to truly reform police tactics in New York and elsewhere around the country.

Errol Louis"Today, we have finally seen justice done," Mayor Bill de Blasio said after his police commissioner James P. O'Neill announced at a news conference Monday that he was terminating Pantaleo. Justice? Not even close. De Blasio and the NYPD always had the option of initiating disciplinary action against Pantaleo, but failed to do so.

Eric Garner's daughter: 'We will continue to fight' 01:40In the meantime, the weeks and months ticked by. Garner's 27-year-old daughter died while waiting for justice, and so did his stepfather. Mayor de Blasio meanwhile remained stubbornly silent about the case, refusing to even express an opinion about whether Pantaleo should remain on the force, for fear of prejudicing the outcome of an internal departmental trial.

De Blasio: Justice has been done 01:05The bottom line is this: a cop killed an unarmed father using a chokehold that was expressly prohibited by the NYPD 20 years before Garner's death and remains banned, according to the NYPD Patrol Guide. .But the NYPD has been lax about enforcing its own rule.

Opinion Pantaleo is NOT UNIQUE. ‘the N Y P Ds Joseph Franco Kevin Blake Daniel Pantaleo Theresa Lustica Elijah Saladeen stalk choke blind assault gaybash Let’s BETTER protect NY’rs from THESE animals.

Opinion Her errollouis, thought you’d be interested to see how Assemblyman Mike Reilly is trolling the internet with nypd excuses about the choke hold.

Opinion He’s gone😄

Opinion 'Fired' is NOT the save as 'PUNISHED'. When law-enforcement officers are 'fired' in the US, that typically means they are still able to be employed in other cities/states as LEOs, where they can continue their improper behavior that got them 'fired' in the first place.

Opinion So a police officer unintentionally chokes an individual till he dies and looses his job 5 years later. Where as anyone else does that and they get charged with manslaughter and spend the next 10-15 years in prison. Might be a disconnect between police and civilians. Just saying.

'The agonizing, unnecessary, five-year wait before the New York Police Department finally fired Daniel Pantaleo... illustrates how hard it will be to truly reform police tactics in New York and elsewhere around the country,' writes Errol Louis, Opinion

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NYPD union chief: Commissioner 'cringing in fear' by firing officer in Eric Garner deathThe police officer who placed Eric Garner in a chokehold in the moments before his death on a New York City Street five years ago will be fired.
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Five Years After Killing Eric Garner, NYPD Fires Officer Daniel PantaleoEduardo Munoz Alvarez/APFive years after Eric Garner’s dying plea “I can’t breathe” became the rallying cry against police brutality across the nation, the police officer who killed him has been fired, a senior law-enforcement official told The Daily Beast.New York City Police Commissioner James O’Neill Thank god After all them years while on desk duty. Getting paid. Now he is fire.😱🤪 icedteacommie And what about his pension?
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NYPD Head Sends Parting Shots at Eric Garner While Firing His Killer“He should’ve decided against resisting arrest,” NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill said of Eric Garner. bullshit. Wow Cops : take responsibility for your actions Also cops : we won't take responsibility for murdering citizens. Ever.
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New York police fire officer who placed Eric Garner in deadly chokeholdThe NYPD officer who used a deadly chokehold on Eric Garner while trying to arrest him in 2014 was fired. The case helped fuel the Black Lives Matter movement After 5 years? What a joke Protect & Serve, was so much better than occupy and impose. He needs to be tried for his crime.
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