Cop cleared in NYC chokehold death

[CharlesDavenport]

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nypd-eric-garner-chokehold-death-not-indicted-article-1.2031841

This is surprising. The guy was choked to death on the sidewalk. I don't know what other evidence was presented, but it looked criminal to me from the video.

 

[Tibs]

Nothing to see here, just another dumb thug that got what he deserved (who just happened to be black, no relevance whatsoever).

 

[Turd Ferguson]

Nothing to see here, just another dumb thug that got what he deserved (who just happened to be black, no relevance whatsoever).

 

[Stewey]

Nothing to see here, just another dumb thug that got what he deserved (who just happened to be black, no relevance whatsoever).

Lol...you fail badly.
As this thread topic proves, those on the right and supporters of the police can acknowledge that police brutality does occur, its idiotic to suggest it never does.
You idiots in turn will always give the benefit of the doubt to thugs no matter what.

If liberals expressed half as much self-righteous indignation about crime as they do about the random case of police brutality, one might be inclined to take them seriously. Criminals they like. It’s the police they hate.-AC

 

[IndySteel]

The choking was extreme. There were 4 cops. They should have all tazed his giant *** all at the same time. Regardless, he'd still be alive if he hadn't resisted. That angel only had 31 arrests on his rap sheet. Mean ole cops need to leave good samaritans like him alone.

 

[Tibs]

 

[EdReed4Prez]

Cop shouldve been charged. NYC is ****** up with giving police too much power. Still stop & frisking which should be criminal. Must be all those racist right wing tea baggers in NYC calling the shots.

 

[IndySteel]

I would bet that NYPD won't put up with riots like those ***** Ferguson cops did. They'll break that **** up on horseback, cracking skulls. They worry about terrorist attacks. They don't have time for the racist mobs looting over some petty thug.

 

[Buster]

If the NYPD outlawed choke holds, there should be some ramifications against the cop. That being said...
1). He most likely died because he was 2 bills overweight.
2). Once again, this all could have been avoided if he had complied or not been a criminal in the first place.

 

[Stewey]

He'd be alive if he hadn't resisted, and he may be alive if he didn't have asthma. The cops intention was to subdue, not kill.
The cop disobeyed police policy regarding the use of chokeholds however.
Even so it would be hard to indict based on those circumstances.

 

[Buster]

Gotta resist or you lose your street cred!

 

[DBS1970]

I'm thinking the guy had a heart attack from the stress and excitement. Still the police officer violated policy with the choke hold and even if he wasn't criminally charged he should be fired for that reason.

 

[oneforthebus]

I'm thinking the guy had a heart attack from the stress and excitement. Still the police officer violated policy with the choke hold and even if he wasn't criminally charged he should be fired for that reason.

My thoughts exactly. I don't think the cop intended to hurt him, certainly not kill him, but he broke the rules and should be fired.

 

[Steeltime]

Los Angeles outlawed the choke hold for its police officers many years ago, due to the very real possibility of choking death. I read an article years ago which pointed out that the time from the suspect being conscious and struggling until he is dead is frighteningly small - something like 60 seconds. If the airway is crushed at all in the choke hold, then the suspect can wind up asphyxiating even after the choke hold is released.

 

[CharlesDavenport]

So I understand that the chokehold was unlawful. I thought if someone dies as a result of you breaking the law, manslaughter was in play at least. In this case it was directly responsible. Seems like plenty there for an indictment. I understand the protests in this case.

 

[Stewey]

So I understand that the chokehold was unlawful. I thought if someone dies as a result of you breaking the law, manslaughter was in play at least. In this case it was directly responsible. Seems like plenty there for an indictment. I understand the protests in this case.

Heard on the news today that the chokehold was not illegal, but rather against police policy. I'm not sure if going against policy would be considered breaking the law.

 

[CharlesDavenport]

Heard on the news today that the chokehold was not illegal, but rather against police policy. I'm not sure if going against policy would be considered breaking the law.

Yeah I wondered about that. Against policy like wearing pink ties is against policy? Certainly seems reckless enough to meet a different requirement for manslaughter.

 

[Steeltime]

So I understand that the chokehold was unlawful. I thought if someone dies as a result of you breaking the law, manslaughter was in play at least. In this case it was directly responsible. Seems like plenty there for an indictment. I understand the protests in this case.

The approach you are talking about is where violation of a statute punishable as a misdemeanor results in a death. This is the flip side to the "felony-murder" rule, and is dubbed the "misdemeanor-manslaughter" rule. The most common usage is driving under the influence and killing somebody.

However, the choke-hold restriction is a police department limitation, and not a statute that controls behavior of the public at large. The "misdemeanor-manslaughter" rule therefore does not apply.

Nonetheless, excessive use of force by any person - police or otherwise - constitutes a crime. If excessive use of force results in a death, it is manslaughter.

Given that the suspect was not presenting a threat, and that the amount of force used was inconsistent with the degree of potential harm posed by the suspect, I think that is a decent argument that the grand jury could or should have returned an indictment.*

* Once again, we did not see the evidence presented to the grand jury so any observation offered is akin to providing very particular commentary on a Steelers' game after seeing the ESPN highlights.

 

[hamster]

This cop obviously used excessive force. This guy, other than verbally resisting, was only accused of some petty crime. Did he really need to be taken down like this?

The question is, all perps resist arrest to a certain point. At what point do you use force, and how much is appropriate? Will we now get to a point where our cops will be afraid to use any force, for fear of possible criminal prosecution? We have emasculated our teachers from punishing disruptive students. Is this the next step in the breakdown of our society?

 

[Booted]

I still find it amazing that, in 45.11 years, I've never been taken down, hand cuffed, roughed up,choked, tazed, beaten, detained or shot by a police officer. White privilege, I suppose.

 

[Yinzerlyn]

I heard this morning that because the autopsy ruled a heart attack that the cop was cleared. The autopsy could NOT prove if the heart attack came from the chokehold, or whether he was overweight, unhealthy, or asthmatic.

 

[thesteelcity]

You can clearly hear him saying he couldn't breathe. There may have been enough doubt of why he died other than suffication, but it seemed excessive and there is video, that Ferguson didn't have.
I still go by the thought process to obey the police, even if you 110% innocent. You will not win. No reason to be tased, shot or brought down by four officers.

 

[Yinzerlyn]

Oh I agree the cop used excessive force. I don't doubt that at all. But we aren't privy to everything the grand jury is, either. I was surprised that there was not an indictment in this case, honestly.

I was telling my daughter the same thing last night. Just listen to the police, do what they say, and you won't end up in a situation like this.

 

[Yinzerlyn]

Oh I agree the cop used excessive force. I don't doubt that at all. But we aren't privy to everything the grand jury is, either. I was surprised that there was not an indictment in this case, honestly.

I was telling my daughter the same thing last night. Just listen to the police, do what they say, and you won't end up in a situation like this.

 

[Superman]

when we loot?