Sergeant in NYPD chokehold death faces departmental charges

NEW YORK (AP) — A sergeant has been stripped of her gun and badge and charged internally in the July 2014 chokehold death of Eric Garner, the first official accusation of wrongdoing in the case that helped spark a national movement on the role of race in policing.

Sgt. Kizzy Adonis was one of the supervising officers at the scene of Garner's death on Staten Island during an arrest on suspicion of selling loose, untaxed cigarettes. She was not part of the team out investigating that day, but heard the radio call and was nearby and responded to the scene. Adonis is black, so was Garner.

Officials said today she was charged with failure to supervise, an internal disciplinary sanction. Sgt. Ed Mullins is the head of her union and calls the charge ridiculous and political.

"She didn't have to go there – she chose to go there to help out, and look what happens," he said, adding it was Commissioner William Bratton, not Adonis, who is to blame. "This incident stems from failed policies that ultimately led to the death of Eric Garner."

The encounter, caught on video by an onlooker, spurred protests about police treatment of black men.