A group of protesters lent some spectacle to Wednesday's CNN-hosted Democratic debate, as a group of activists cut in with chants against the police officer implicated in the 2014 death of Eric Garner.
As Sen. Cory Booker (D- New Jersey) began his opening remarks, chants of ‘Fire Pantaleo’ filled the room, eventually forcing him to stop short of finishing his statement while guards escorted the protesters out of the hall. As they were led away, the protesters continued chanting ‘Fire Pantaleo!’ as Booker sported a smile, seemingly OK with that.
The chant referred to NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo, who put unarmed African-American man Eric Garner in a chokehold during his arrest on July 17, 2014 on suspicion of selling untaxed cigarettes. The maneuver, which Pantaleo insisted was within the law, contributed to Garner's death and sparked a fresh wave of Black Lives Matter protests.
The investigation into Pantaleo’s alleged use of excessive force dragged on for five years, but earlier this month federal prosecutors decided against filing civil rights charges against the officer. The decision drew outrage from African-American community, but did little to sway the opinion of the court. A federal grand jury also refused to prosecute Pantaleo.
Speaking ahead of the debates, protesters said that their stunt was directed at New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, since Garner’s case happened on his watch. They began shouting the disgraced officer’s name during de Blasio’s remarks, but turned the volume up as they were being kicked out of the hall.
Booker apparently saw more value in the outsourced attack on a rival's image than in his own statement, applauding the protesters in a tweet saying: “That’s how change is made.”
Forced on the defensive, de Blasio responded along the same lines. “This is what democracy looks like and no one said it was pretty,” he tweeted, but said the best way to get justice for him would be to “respect the process.”