US judge rules against releasing minutes in Garner chokehold death
A US court has ruled against the public disclosure of testimony heard by a grand jury that decided not to indict a white police officer in the chokehold death of unarmed African American Eric Garner in New York.
State Supreme Court Justice William Garnett ruled against the release of the grand jury transcript, including the testimony of the officer involved and dozens of witnesses, detailed descriptions of evidence and other documentation.
Garner, 43, died on July 17 after being placed in the chokehold by police officer Daniel Pantaleo on Staten Island.
The decision was made on Thursday after the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and others had asked the court to order Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan to make the grand jury record public.
Garnett, however wrote, "What would they use the minutes for? The only answer which the court heard was the possibility of effecting legislative change."
"That proffered need is purely speculative and does not satisfy the requirements of the law," he added.
He claimed that the decision by the Staten Island grand jurors "was theirs alone, after having heard all of the evidence, having been instructed on law and having deliberated. Their collective decision should not be impeached by the unbridled speculation that the integrity of this grand jury was impaired in any way."
In a critical response to the decision, the NYCLU's legal director, Arthur Eisenberg, said the agency was disappointed that the court "has chosen to perpetuate secrecy rather than promote transparency.”
“In doing so, the court has reinforced the distrust many New Yorkers already feel toward the performance of the criminal justice system in this case,” he stated.
In a similar case in Ferguson, Missouri, a grand jury decided not to indict white police officer Darren Wilson who fatally shot unarmed black teenager Michael Brown last summer.
The grand juries decisions that cleared the police officers in the killings of unarmed African Americans sparked protests across the United States in December.
Earlier this month, the Justice Department issued a scathing report on the Ferguson Police Department, highlighting the city’s “broken and racially biased” police system.
Following the release of the report, Attorney General Eric Holder said the federal government demanded reforms in the Ferguson Police Department, and would dismantle the force if necessary.
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