Staten Island top cop ordered headlight fix to avoid ire of Rev. Al Sharpton, report says
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- Assistant Chief Edward Delatorre directed police to replace the burnt headlight of Gwen Carr--the mother of chokehold victim Eric Garner-- to promote community relations and to avoid the ire of Rev. Al Sharpton, according to the New York Post.
The Post claims that Delatorre--who is the NYPD's borough commander for Staten Island-- told union delegates that he felt sympathetic toward Ms. Carr as a mother who had lost her son and that he also wanted to avoid conflict with Rev. Sharpton.
Pat Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association (PBA), has called for the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau to investigate the accusation, according to a press release from the PBA.
Ms. Carr of Staten Island said she never asked for any special treatment by the NYPDwhen her vehicle was pulled over on Staten Island for a burned out headlight on Oct. 21.
According to the Post, Ms. Carr called Delatorre that night shortly after the incident occurred to complain.
"I have never made any special requests of the NYPD and I have never had Assistant Chief Delatorre's number," Ms. Carr said in a statement released by Jacky Johnson, a spokeswoman for Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network.
"The only thing I have ever requested of the NYPD was what any mother would ask, which is the arrest for the killing of my son," Ms. Carr said.
She added, "I have no animosity towards the police. I just want to see justice for my son."
Eric Garner, 43, died on July 17 after an altercation with police in Tompkinsville during an attempted arrest for selling loose cigarettes. The medical examiner later ruled that the death was a homicide with a police chokehold as a factor.
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Staten Island top cop ordered headlight fix to avoid ire of Rev. Al Sharpton, report says