An administrative judge has recommended firing the New York City police officer accused of using a chokehold in the 2014 death of Eric Garner, ignoring his cries of "I can't breathe."

The judge’s findings in the disciplinary case of Officer Daniel Pantaleo were provided Friday to his lawyer and the city agency that acted as a prosecutor at his department trial.

The Civilian Complaint Review Board chairman said the judge had recommended dismissal for Pantaleo, who denies using excessive force in the arrest.

'Today we can't breathe':DOJ will not bring civil rights charge against NYPD officer in death of Eric Garner

Pantaleo’s lawyer will have about two weeks to submit a response before Police Commissioner James O’Neill makes a final decision on punishment.

In the meantime, under department practices, he was been suspended pending a final ruling.

Garner, 43, a black man, was accused of selling single cigarettes outside a store on Staten Island when Pantaleo attempted to arrest him.

In a struggle captured on video, Garner gasped repeatedly that he could not breathe after Pantaleo and other officers knocked him to the ground as Pantaleo held him around the head and neck.

The video became a social media phenomenon that triggered protests and charges of police brutality.

During investigations into the incident, Pantaleo was stripped of his gun and put on desk duty, but continued to draw a hefty salary, with his pay peaking at more than $120,000 in 2017, according to city payroll records.

"Today, for the first time in these long five years, a system of justice is working," said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, adding, "Today, we finally saw a step toward justice and accountability."

Garner's family expressed impatience Friday over a resolution in the long-running dispute.

"This has been a long battle, five years too long, and finally someone has said there is some information that this cop has done something wrong," said Emerald Snipes-Garner, Garner's daughter. "We've waited too long. Commissioner O'Neil, fire Pantaleo. That's all we are asking."

The head of New York City’s largest police union says the administrative judge’s recommendation is “pure political insanity.”

Police Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch said in a statement that if O’Neill goes along with the "horrendous" recommendation, “it will paralyze the NYPD for years to come.”

Carmen Perez, civil rights activist and organizer of the #ICantBreathe Campaign that emerged in the wake of Garner's death, called the recommendation "a small step toward accountability for the NYPD," but said there will be no justice for the Garner family unless the police commissioner follows through with the firing recommendation.

The administrative judge's ruling comes less than three weeks after Attorney General William Barr decided not to bring federal civil rights charges against the officer in the case. In making the decision, Barr sided with a Justice Department team from New York over the Civil Rights division in Washington.

In announcing the decision, Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Richard Donogue said the video and other evidence did not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that officer Pantaleo acted willfully in violation of federal law.

In December 2014, a Staten Island grand jury declined to indict Pantaleo on state charges.

The crux of the case remains whether Pantaleo used a chokehold, which is banned by the NYPD; the officer denies he used the move.

Pantaleo initially tried to use two approved restraint tactics on Garner, much larger at 6-foot-2 and about 400 pounds but ended up wrapping his arm around Garner’s neck for about seven seconds during the struggle.

De Blasio, who is running for president, had signaled the latest move against Pantaleo during this week's Democratic Party presidential debates when he was asked why the officer was still on the police force. During the debate, a protester in the audience also shouted "Fire Pantaleo."

“I know the Garner family," de Blasio said. "They have gone through extraordinary pain, and they are waiting for justice and are going to get justice. There’s finally going to be justice, I have confidence in that, in the next thirty days in New York."

De Blasio has been dogged by the case from all sides in the past five years. In his initial statements, he was critical of the officers involved, noting that he had had to warn his own son, who is black, to be careful in any encounters with police. Then, as protests erupted, a disturbed man angry about the Garner and other incidents ambushed and killed two New York City police officers as they sat in their cruiser.

Those killings prompted the head of the city’s largest police union to charge that the mayor had “blood on his hands” over the officers' deaths. At their funeral, police officers turned their backs on the mayor.

De Blasio then infuriated police reform advocates by allowing the department to wait for years to begin disciplinary proceedings against Pantaleo.

Contributing: Associated Press