Trial of NYPD officer accused of choking Eric Garner ends

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - The future of the NYPD officer involved in the death of Eric Garner will be decided by a judge after the disciplinary trial of Daniel Pantaleo came to an end on Thursday.

Pantaleo has been accused of using a banned chokehold maneuver while trying to arrest Garner for selling untaxed cigarettes in Staten Island in July 2014.

In his summation, defense attorney Stuart London said the hold applied to Garner was not a chokehold and that obesity and a severe asthma attack caused asphyxiation that caused Garner’s death. However, supporters of Garner’s family claimed a victory when the City Deputy Medical Examiner refuted that claim on the stand.

Pantaleo is facing charges of reckless assault and strangulation that could end his career with the NYPD.

Judge Rosemarie Maldonado says she will take as much time as needed to review all of the case’s details before deciding on Pantaleo’s guilt or innocence and passing her decision on to Police Commissioner O’Neil, who will ultimately decide if the officer remains on the force.