Daniel Pantaleo, the former New York cop who was fired earlier this year for his use of a chokehold on Eric Garner, is now suing the New York City Police Department to get his job back.
A suit was filed Wednesday in which Pantaleo and his lawyer call the firing decision "arbitrary and capricious," according toNBC News.
Following five years of protests and additional investigation, Pantaleo was fired back in August over the 2014 chokehold death of Garner.
"Today, we are finally seeing justice done," Mayor Bill de Blasio said of the decision at the time. "Today will not bring Eric Garner back, but I hope it brings some small measure of closure to the Garner family."
The firing by NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill was inspired by the recommendation of the department's Deputy Commissioner of Trials. Announcing the decision ,O'Neill said it was "clear" that Pantaleo could "no longer effectively serve as a New York City police officer." O'Neill added that he believed Pantaleo's involvement in the arrest was justified up until the point of the chokehold, which is a department-prohibited method.
Addressing this week's news of Pantaleo’s lawsuit, Rev. Al Sharpton called the move "disrespectful" to both the department and Garner's family.
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