No Eric Garner Thread Yet?!
Dec 4, 2014 16:29:11 GMT -6
Mystic Wanderer, bonhommearmonica, and 1 more like this
Post by Irish Cream on Dec 4, 2014 16:29:11 GMT -6
On July 17th, 2014 Mr. Eric Garner was approached by two undercover police officers who accused him of selling illegal cigarettes. What happened from there can only be described as tragic! After a few minutes of protest that he had done nothing wrong, Officer Daniel Pantaleo put Mr. Ganer in an illegal chokehold in order to arrest him. Officer Pantaleo and his partner, Officer Justin Damico were joined by three other NYPD police officers within minutes. Mr. Garner was forced to the ground by Pantaleo and subsequently handcuffed while being held down by FOUR officers. Mr. Garner was heard saying, as many as eleven times, that he could not breathe. The EMTs did come, but there was no CPR administered. There was plenty of pulse finding (never did find out if he had a pulse at the scene) and plenty of "Sir, can you hear me?" "Sir, the EMT is here, let them help you." and from the EMT, "Sir, I'm the EMT and I'm here to help you now, can you move?"
How do I know this? Grand Jury witness testimony, the word of the arresting officers, the EMT who arrived on scene's testimony? Nope, I know this because people standing nearby had the good sense to turn on their smartphones' video cameras and record the entire event!
On December 3rd, the Grand Jury reviewing this case made the decision to NOT indict Officer Pantaleo or any of the other officers involved, however Pantaleo was stripped of his gun and put on desk duty while the investigation was underway. They did not indict the EMT who didn't administer CPR, however, she was suspended without pay while the hospital who employed her did their own investigation. She has since been reinstated.
What bothers me the most about this case is the video evidence that was not only entered as evidence to the Grand Jury, but the world at large via the internet. I can not understand how anyone with an ounce of conscience would let this officer off the hook, let alone his partner and the responding EMT. It just does not compute, especially when you consider the alleged crime was a misdemeanor at best. I, as a smoker have actually sold cigarettes out of my pack during break time to other smokers who didn't have any on them. A quarter here, $0.50 there and I never even knew it was a crime, much less one I could be publicly executed for committing. I simply saw it as doing a favor for fellow smokers (save the lecture, I know it's unhealthy lol) and the bonus was I could then buy a soda after break.
Now in all fairness, Mr. Garner was an obese man with heart disease and asthma (it has also been claimed he suffered from sleep apnea). So, he was not in peak physical condition, but is that really the point?! The point here is that police brutality has gotten completely out of control. While I agree that a large majority of these cases involve "white" officers and "black" suspects, it goes much deeper than that. People's dogs are being shot, people's grandparents are being tazed, women are being raped, the average citizen has to sit in fear while awaiting the cop who pulled them over for a traffic violation's arrival at their window. It may be due to an increased awareness brought to us courtesy of social media, but again, is that really the point?
Something's gotta give... and I believe we may be seeing the crack in the dam so to speak with the protests being held on a daily basis since the Mike Brown incident in Ferguson back in August. The protests may have cooled over time and even disappeared from the MSM at points, but last Monday November 24th, the Grand Jury in that case made the decision to not indict Officer Darren Wilson. BOOM!!!! After the most recent Grand Jury decision in Mr. Garner's case, New Yorkers, and other people across the country, joined the already in progress protests and marches for the Michael Brown verdict and the numbers were too numerous to count (in New York at least). The protesters took to the streets, shutting down the West Bound Highway, disrupting the Tree Lighting events in Rockefeller Center and even sending Santa fleeing into the back of an unmarked police SUV!
Why are we not talking more about this? There is plenty of room for debate in the Michael Brown case, I'll give you that much, but Eric Garner's case?! Naaaw, not really!! I will not post the videos here because they are disturbing and also because they are very easily found with a simple search of "Eric Garner Video".
Note: NO cigarettes were found on Mr. Garner's body. He was pronounced dead about an hour later at the Hospital.
How do I know this? Grand Jury witness testimony, the word of the arresting officers, the EMT who arrived on scene's testimony? Nope, I know this because people standing nearby had the good sense to turn on their smartphones' video cameras and record the entire event!
On December 3rd, the Grand Jury reviewing this case made the decision to NOT indict Officer Pantaleo or any of the other officers involved, however Pantaleo was stripped of his gun and put on desk duty while the investigation was underway. They did not indict the EMT who didn't administer CPR, however, she was suspended without pay while the hospital who employed her did their own investigation. She has since been reinstated.
What bothers me the most about this case is the video evidence that was not only entered as evidence to the Grand Jury, but the world at large via the internet. I can not understand how anyone with an ounce of conscience would let this officer off the hook, let alone his partner and the responding EMT. It just does not compute, especially when you consider the alleged crime was a misdemeanor at best. I, as a smoker have actually sold cigarettes out of my pack during break time to other smokers who didn't have any on them. A quarter here, $0.50 there and I never even knew it was a crime, much less one I could be publicly executed for committing. I simply saw it as doing a favor for fellow smokers (save the lecture, I know it's unhealthy lol) and the bonus was I could then buy a soda after break.
Now in all fairness, Mr. Garner was an obese man with heart disease and asthma (it has also been claimed he suffered from sleep apnea). So, he was not in peak physical condition, but is that really the point?! The point here is that police brutality has gotten completely out of control. While I agree that a large majority of these cases involve "white" officers and "black" suspects, it goes much deeper than that. People's dogs are being shot, people's grandparents are being tazed, women are being raped, the average citizen has to sit in fear while awaiting the cop who pulled them over for a traffic violation's arrival at their window. It may be due to an increased awareness brought to us courtesy of social media, but again, is that really the point?
Something's gotta give... and I believe we may be seeing the crack in the dam so to speak with the protests being held on a daily basis since the Mike Brown incident in Ferguson back in August. The protests may have cooled over time and even disappeared from the MSM at points, but last Monday November 24th, the Grand Jury in that case made the decision to not indict Officer Darren Wilson. BOOM!!!! After the most recent Grand Jury decision in Mr. Garner's case, New Yorkers, and other people across the country, joined the already in progress protests and marches for the Michael Brown verdict and the numbers were too numerous to count (in New York at least). The protesters took to the streets, shutting down the West Bound Highway, disrupting the Tree Lighting events in Rockefeller Center and even sending Santa fleeing into the back of an unmarked police SUV!
Why are we not talking more about this? There is plenty of room for debate in the Michael Brown case, I'll give you that much, but Eric Garner's case?! Naaaw, not really!! I will not post the videos here because they are disturbing and also because they are very easily found with a simple search of "Eric Garner Video".
Note: NO cigarettes were found on Mr. Garner's body. He was pronounced dead about an hour later at the Hospital.
