NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo’s departmental trial has been on the calendar for five months, but that didn’t stop him for asking to take a vacation in the middle of it.
Pantaleo, who faces administrative charges for the 2014 choking death of Eric Garner, asked NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Trials Rosemarie Maldonado to let him take off the Friday after his trial starts May 13 — but the judge nixed the travel plans, saying Pantaleo “needs to be here.”
“He will be here,” Pantaleo’s lawyer Stuart London conceded after a Thursday pre-trial hearing at 1 Police Plaza. “She denied my request for the day off.”
Pantaleo has been on desk duty since Garner died in 2014.
London also attempted to weaken the city’s case against the officer, claiming two charges against him were brought after the statute of limitations had lapsed.
It was London’s second attempt this week to derail the prosecution of Pantaleo.
On Tuesday, the lawyer filed a motion in Supreme Court claiming the Civilian Complaint Review Board doesn’t have justification to bring the case.
London has argued the initial complaint to the board didn’t come from an eyewitness and that the NYPD should handle it internally.
“The fact that Pantaleo’s lawyer continues in a desperate effort to delay prosecution is an utter disgrace,” CCRB Chair Fred Davie said in a statement. “After five years, it’s high time for justice for the Garner family.”
As a potential injection looms in the case, Maldonado told attorneys on both sides to get their cases prepared as the trial is scheduled for the morning of May 13.
A judge is expected to rule before then whether the trial can move forward.
Kirsten John Foy, president of the Arc of Justice, said outside the police station Thursday that London’s strategy is “neutering” the review board and can have long-reaching effects on the board’s ability to prosecute in the future.