NYPD might not say if officer in chokehold death is punished

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City might never tell the public if the police officer at the center of the Eric Garner chokehold death case is disciplined, the mayor and police commissioner indicated this week after reaching a new interpretation of a 40-year-old state civil rights law.

The New York Police Department recently ended a longstanding practice of letting reporters see a rundown of disciplinary actions, saying officials had concluded it violated the law.

Any disciplinary moves won't happen until federal prosecutors decide whether to bring civil rights charges against Pantaleo, whom a state grand jury declined to indict.

"The public employees who have the most power over people's lives are the least accountable due to (the law) — it should be the reverse," said Robert Freeman, executive director of the New York State Committee on Open Government.