Falconer writes: "A New York court on Tuesday reinstated the pension of former Buffalo police officer Cariol Horne, who was fired for intervening when a white colleague had a Black man in a chokehold during a 2006 arrest."
Former Buffalo police officer Cariol Horne. (photo: Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
15 April 21
New York court on Tuesday reinstated the pension of former Buffalo police officer Cariol Horne, who was fired for intervening when a white colleague had a Black man in a chokehold during a 2006 arrest.
Driving the news: State Supreme Court Judge Dennis Ward noted in his ruling similar cases, like the death of George Floyd. Ward said the role of other officers at the scene in such instances had come under scrutiny, "particularly their complicity in failing to intervene to save the life of a person to whom such unreasonable physical force is being applied."
Over a decade of fighting and @CariolHorne has finally received justice.
— Jecorey Arthur (@jecoreyarthur) April 14, 2021
Today the State of New York Supreme Court vacated and annulled the City of Buffalo's decision to fire her and take her benefits. She'll be getting her pension, benefits, and back-pay from 2010. pic.twitter.com/FZy8AAH6CX
"To her credit, Officer Horne did not merely stand by, but instead sought to intervene, despite the penalty she ultimately paid for doing so ... She saved a life that day, and history will now record her for the hero she is."
Judge Ward
The big picture: Horne, who is Black, said she heard the handcuffed man say he couldn't breathe — invoking the deaths in police custody of Floyd and Eric Garner, two Black men who said this in their dying words, which have become a "national rallying cry against police brutality," the New York Times notes.
Of note: The judge ruling in favor of Horne's lawsuit means Horne will receive a full pension, backpay and benefits.
What they're saying: Harvard Law School Criminal Justice Institute director Ronald Sullivan, an attorney representing Horne, said in a statement the ruling was "a significant step in correcting an injustice."
Read the decision and judgment in full, via DocumentCloud.