Teaneck Remembers Phillip Pannell, Marches For George Floyd

TEANECK, NJ - The people of Teaneck gathered today to protest the death of George Floyd. In doing so, they remembered one of their own.

The family of Phillip Pannell spoke during the protest, including his mother Thelma Dantzler and sister Natacha Pannell. Pannell, a black 16-year-old, was shot by white officer Gary Spath in 1990, which lead to Teaneck's 1990 riots.

Dantzler spoke about her son's death, in which the officer was acquitted of manslaughter, and related it to the death of Floyd and others across the country.

She ended by saying "get your knee off my neck", a reference to the final moments of Floyd's life, and the demonstrators responded with a chorus of "I can't breathe", a phrase Floyd said in the viral video of his death.

Floyd, a 46-year old Minneapolis man, died on May 25 with the knee of a white police officer on his neck. Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, who was captured on video kneeling on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes, was initially charged with third-degree murder. Earlier this week, that charge was elevated to a second-degree murder.

The other three officers present at the time of Floyd's death — Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao — have been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, according to court records.

An independent autopsy revealed Floyd's cause of death to be asphyxia due to sustained forceful pressure. Dr. Michael Baden and Dr. Allecia Wilson, who performed the autopsy, ruled his death a homicide.

Natacha Pannell also spoke, and delivered an impassioned message to the protesters who surrounded her.

"This is not a game," she said, of police violence. "This is a black thing, this is a white thing, this is a Spanish thing, this is an American thing."

Many carried signs honoring Pannell, and the scars of his killing were clearly visible throughout the community.

As protesters marched along Teaneck Road, what have become familiar chants rang out. “No justice, no peace” interspersed with chants of “Say his name, George Floyd” were echoed throughout the march.

As has been true at protests across the state and country, social distancing protocols were hard to maintain as the sheer volume of people crowded streets and sidewalks, though many wore masks.

At least two healthcare workers were present in the crowd, and employees of Holy Name Medical Center lined the street outside the facility to support the protesters. One medical professional, donning a white coat as part of the White Coats For Black Lives movement, acknowledged the dilemma facing demonstrators across the country as they gather in large groups to protest in spite of a global pandemic.

“I think that people are fed up, and I think it speaks to the depth of the crime that was committed that people are willing to put aside their own health, their own safety, to be out here protesting for this cause,” she said. “To us, it gives us hope that there are still decent people left in this world that are willing to stand up for this cause.

She declined to be named, referring to herself simply as “Jane Doe”.

There was a substantial police presence throughout the march as officers blocked off roads creating space for the march to proceed, but there were no moments of violence, and little tension.

Protesters stopped at Teaneck police headquarters chanting “I can’t breathe” as officers watched from the roof and recorded the crowd on cellphones.

Demonstrators eventually stopped at the corner of North Street and River Road, kneeling, fists raised, in honor of Floyd.

Councilman Henry Pruitt praised the organizers of this protest and others across the country, adding that he felt they were putting their lives in risk by doing so.

“I know we made mistakes in the past, but I believe Teaneck is an oasis in the American desert,” he said.

The comment was met with vocal agreement as demonstrators watched and listened, but the message was in stark contrast to what other voices had expressed earlier in the day.

As Pruitt finished speaking it began to rain, and the crowd began to disperse back to their homes, places of work and cars. As they walked, the chants continued.

The day is over, but the work is not.