Politics

Prosecutors Fight for Eric Garner Grand Jury Record Secrecy

Published

11 years ago

June 17, 2015

In this Dec. 3, 2014, photo, security personnel stand outside Richmond County Supreme Court after a grand jury’s decision not to indict a New York police officer involved in the police-chokehold death of Eric Garner, in the Staten Island borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

TOM HAYS, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyers battling over whether the grand jury record in the chokehold death of an unarmed black man should stay sealed came under sharp questioning by an appeals court on Tuesday, with one judge asking whether secrecy was a way of glossing over prosecutors’ role in a decision not to charge a white police officer in the case.

The four-judge state panel in Brooklyn heard the arguments in the Eric Garner case after the New York Civil Liberties Union and others appealed a March ruling keeping the minutes under seal. A lower-court judge agreed with the Staten Island district attorney’s office that lifting the veil of secrecy in grand jury proceedings could subject witnesses to harassment or retaliation after they were promised anonymity, an argument repeated on Tuesday.

“The intense public scrutiny of this case should result not in disclosure but even more zealous protection,” Assistant District Attorney Anne Grady said.

But Judge Leonard Austin zeroed in on accusations that then-District Attorney Daniel Donovan was being duplicitous in the Garner case for going to court to get permission for a partial disclosure of details like the number of witnesses, only to turn around and argue against the release of more meaningful information like the testimony of Officer Daniel Pantaleo and prosecutors’ instructions to the grand jury.

“Your office seems to have wanted to put a very pretty gloss on what happened and kind of sweep everything under the rug and use grand jury secrecy as its protection,” Austin said.

Pantaleo and other officers stopped Garner last July 17 on suspicion of selling loose, untaxed cigarettes. A video shot by an onlooker and widely watched online shows Garner telling the officers to leave him alone and refusing to be handcuffed.

The officer responded by wrapping his arm around Garner’s neck in what he said was a sanctioned takedown move and not a banned chokehold. The heavyset Garner, who had asthma, is heard on the tape gasping, “I can’t breathe.” He later was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The medical examiner ruled Garner’s death a homicide and found that a chokehold contributed to it. The death helped spark nationwide debate about the role of race in policing.

The judges on Tuesday also pressed the NYCLU and others on whether they had established a “compelling and particularized need” for the release of the grand jury record as required by law, a standard the lower-court judge found they failed to meet. Attorney Arthur Eisenberg responded that the disclosure was needed to better inform legislative proposals aimed at making grand jury deliberations more transparent.

NAACP attorney James Meyerson went further, saying disclosure was needed because allowing secrecy “reinforces the perception, if not the reality, that the system is rigged.”

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Mayor Barbara Lee Holds Special State of the City Address in Deep East Oakland

In partnership with Rise East and the 40×40 Council, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee held a special 2026 State of the City East Oakland community conversation on Oct. 14. The purpose of bringing a State of the City address directly to the community was to celebrate East Oakland, highli

Published

4 days ago

October 19, 2026

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Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, left. moderated a community chat with (l.to r.) Selena Wilson, CEO of the East Oakland Youth Development Center; Carolyn “CJ” Johnson, CEO of the Black Cultural Zone; Dr. Noha Aboelata, CEO of Roots Health Center and Greg Hodge, CEO of the Brotherhood of Elders.

By Special to The Post

In partnership with Rise East and the 40×40 Council, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee held a special 2026 State of the City East Oakland community conversation on Oct. 14.

The purpose of bringing a State of the City address directly to the community was to celebrate East Oakland, highlight the work underway, and look ahead to what neighbors, local businesses, youth, funders, community organizations, and partners can accomplish together.

Held at the Roots Community Health/Parker Elementary School Campus at 7929 Ney Ave., the event was emceed by special guest Mark Curry, Oakland native, comedian, and actor.

Lee shared how Rise East and the 40×40 Council have brought together the knowledge, relationships, and resources of people and organizations committed to East Oakland.

Residents bring lived experience, community organizations bring trusted relationships and philanthropy, and businesses bring resources and opportunity, she said, then turned to the government’s role: public investment, services and policy.

But, Lee intoned, City Hall has a responsibility to help connect those efforts.

“I am committed to listening to residents, working across departments and sectors, and helping open doors to opportunity. We must connect neighborhood priorities to the decisions we make about housing, economic development, safety, health and our young people.

City Hall “must be accountable for the results,” Lee said. “The measure of success is what families experience: greater stability, more opportunity and a stronger sense that they belong and have a future here.

“Tonight is an opportunity to listen to the leaders doing this work, learn what is making a difference and identify where we can do more together,” the mayor said.

Lee went on to moderate a ‘fireside chat’ on the theme: Building Oakland’s Future Together — From Neighborhood Investment to Community Empowerment with:

Selena Wilson, CEO, East Oakland Youth Development Center
Greg Hodge, CEO, Brotherhood of Elders
Carolyn “CJ” Johnson, CEO, Black Cultural Zone
Dr. Noha Aboelata, CEO, Roots Health Center

Mayor Barbara Lee’s media relations department provided this report.

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Opponents Smear Effective African American Transit Director as Election Nears

Incumbent Joel Young is defending his seat on the AC Transit Board against allegations of harassment stemming from a public interaction in 2026. Supporters of the director cite his record of securing $600 million for bus services and leading civil rights initiatives as evidence of his effectiveness. They argue the accusations regarding a group photo interaction have been politically weaponized by opponents to influence the Ward 3 election.

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4 days ago

October 19, 2026

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By Kitty Kelly Epstein

I am an academic and a community activist. I take women’s issues, including workplace harassment and discrimination, seriously. I have been following the AC Transit Ward 3 election and have become concerned about what I believe is a serious injustice.

Joel Young is an effective AC Transit director. He has secured more than $600 million for local bus service and fare affordability. He led the Freedom Bus Project, integrating civil rights history, art and transit. He was presiding over the board of AC transit when it won the 2023 Outstanding Public System Award, and he raised $1 million for the hydrogen fuel cell bus program. These are just a few of his accomplishments.

I reviewed the allegations of unwanted physical contact and harassment made by AC Transit Director Sarah Syed against Director Joel Young, I believe the events of Sept. 24, 2025, have been characterized in a way that does not accurately reflect what occurred.

That interaction took place during a group photo after celebrating the life of a longtime Board member who passed away. From the video I reviewed, it appears that individuals were consoling one another and exchanging hugs in a public setting surrounded by numerous witnesses.

Young’s interaction with Syed appears consistent with those expressions of sympathy and it appears that Young was attempting to extend a gesture of goodwill toward Syed.

I am concerned by how this incident has been recently used as a political tool to influence the outcome of the AC Transit Ward 3 election and support Young’s opponent.

Syed and her supporters launched a targeted political campaign, first through the Alameda County Democratic Party and subsequently by organizing a letter from a group of majority-white elected officials who have endorsed Young’s opponent against Young, who is Africa American.
Furthermore, this manufactured controversy distracts voters from the critical issues facing AC Transit. The public deserves a substantive debate on service reliability, ridership recovery, passenger and operator safety, financial stability, regional equity, and future transportation infrastructure. The electorate should be evaluating which candidate possesses the judgment, experience, and vision to lead AC Transit forward – not reacting to a distorted personal interaction.

Regardless of one’s political views or preferred candidate, allegations of harassment should never be weaponized for electoral purposes. We all know that exaggerated or unsupported accusations can undermine public understanding of, and trust in, efforts to address genuine sexual harassment and violence.

Kitty Kelly Epstein