Travis A. Greene
Josh Lindsay
CRJ-115-01
Piedmont Technical College
April 24, 2017
Excessive Force or Noncompliance
On July 17, 2014 history was made when Eric Garner, 43 years-old who died while in a headlock by a New York Police Department officer, and several other officers on his back for supposedly selling unlicensed cigarettes on a store-front. Mr. Garner was approached by a plain clothes officers, later identified as Officers Daniel Pantaleo and Justin Damico.
The bystanders and store owners’ stories were collaborative, that neither officer identified themselves as police until after trying to put Mr. Garner on the ground. During the brief struggle, you can hear Mr. Garner pleading with officers “I CAN’T BREATHE,” to be ignored
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Garner, could have not resulted in a homicide if several things were not done of different approaches were taken. If the officers were responding to a fight in progress, they should have been able to corroborate Mr. Garner’s story that he was not involved in the fight, and he did indeed break up a fight at that location. Secondly, after having several persons on the scene telling the officers that Garner wasn’t involved in the fight, they quickly switched the reasoning to suspicion of selling unlicensed cigarettes. Only, to have that uncorroborated by witness on the scene. Third, the officers never told Garner he was being detained or under arrest; the officers didn’t even say he was under arrest when placing him in chokehold. Fourth, Garner pleads for his life to officers that he could not breathe and officers ignored him and increased the level of force to detain him.
The incident, then, was a clear instance of the broader problem of police brutality and how police fail to use discretion with force. Moreover, there is reason to believe that the death of Eric Garner may well be simply the latest incident of a broader pattern of deviance and use of excessive force by the New York police. For example, “although chokeholds have been banned in New York City for over two decades, there have still been countless public complaints against police using chokeholds over the past several years.” (see Goodman and Gonzalez). (NYC Civilian Complaint Review Board
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DANZIGER, J.S.C. "Ragland V City of New York :: 2014 :: New York Other Courts Decisions :: New York Case Law :: New York Law :: U.S. Law :: Justia." Justia Law, law.justia.com/cases/new-york/other-courts/2014/2014-ny-slip-op-51622-u.html. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017.
NYC Civilian Complaint Review Board. A Matured Rule: Lack of Enforcement in the Face of Persistent Chokehold Complaints in New York City. NYC Civilian Complaint Review Board, 2014. www.nyc.gov/html/ccrb/downloads/pdf/Chokehold%20Study_20141007.pdf. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017.
Orta, Ramsey. Eric Garner Choking Death. http://time.com/3618279/eric-garner-chokehold-crime-staten-island-daniel-pantaleo/, Time Magazine, 14 Dec. 2014,
Papa, Juliet. "Eric Garner Case Reaction from New York City Mayor Riles Police Union - CBS News." CBS News - Breaking News, Live News Stream 24x7, CBS News, 4 Dec. 2014, www.cbsnews.com/news/eric-garner-case-reaction-from-new-york-city-mayor-riles-police-union/. Accessed 26 Apr. 2017.
Vorhees, Josh. "Daniel Pantaleo Not Indicted: Why the NYPD Officer Wasn’t Indicted in the Chokehold Death of Eric Garner." Of Course it Happened Again, Slate Magazine, 3 Dec. 2014, www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/12/daniel_pantaleo_not_indicted_why_the_nypd_officer_wasn_t_indicted_in_the.html. Accessed 24 Apr.
Garner, the suspect's father brought forth that his unarmed son was wrongfully shot by a police officer as his son was fleeing from the burglary of an unoccupied house. He proposed a wrongful death action under the federal civil rights statute against the police officer who fired the shot, the police department and others.
“I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” These were the last words of Eric Garner, a middle-aged African American man. Garner died at the hands of multiple police officers who were trying to restrain him for selling cigarettes. These sorts of images are showcased on television way too often. To the point that some people feel helpless, they know that they alone do not have the power to overthrow the superiority of an officer. So they have really no choice but watch the tragedy unfold. Also fear that if they interfere, that they may be the next victim. “I am most struck by the behavior of the EMTs, who stood along with the police and did nothing as they watched Eric Garner die” (Williams 10). Although some people deny that police brutality is a problem, recent studies and events (such as the one listed above) prove that ultra-aggressive police officers, militarization of police agencies, and the effects of racism have increased police brutality.
Eric Garner was a 43 year old African American man who was also fatally injured by a law enforcement officer. A police officer in Staten Island, New York claimed Garner was selling illegal cigarettes, and then the officer placed Garner in an illegal choke hold. A bystander was able to record the event on his/her smartphone. Although the officer placed Garner in an illegal chokehold, the officer was not charged with any crimes. The officer was only put on modified duty, and his supervisor was stripped of her gun because of failure to supervise.
“Officer Jeronimo Yanez, charged with second-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of Philando Castile, a 32-year-old black Minneapolis man” (Capecchi). “Brian Encinia, former Texas trooper charged with misdemeanor perjury stemming from his arrest of Sandra Bland, a black woman who was later found dead in a county jail” (Almasy). “Sgt. Kizzy Adonis, charged with failure to supervise in connection with the 2014 death of Eric Garner, a 43-year-old black Staten Island man who died after police to administered a controversial choke hold” (Eversley). These are a few examples of the mistreatment suffered by young black citizens at the hands of police officers that resulted in the death of a suspect. Throughout the nation, the mishandling of the authority given to police officers has increased and is not merely coincidentally occurring.
There were boycotts of the malls in Baton Rouge, people were marching even holding up traffic. This didn’t only occur in Baton Rouge, but across the U.S. people were standing up for this injustice. Alton Sterling was selling cd in front of a convenience store when two officers approached him, the situation escalated Mr. Sterling was shot several times resulting in his death. Baton Rouge police did not provide much information about what escalated the incident between the officers and Sterling or what prompted an officer to fire his weapon. A witness, however, described police as “aggressive” and said Sterling was armed but was not holding his gun or touching his pockets during the incident. The level of force an officer uses varies based on the situation. Because of this variation, guidelines for the use of force are based on many factors, including the officer’s level of training or experience.
One day a boy named Tyrone and his father were on there way to Six Flags when they were pulled over by a police officer. The cop walked up to the vehicle and Tyrone’s dad asked the officer why he was pulled over. Then the cop asked Blue, Tyrone 's dad, to step out the car so he stepped out the car and the officer searched him. After that Blue tried to take off his jacket but the officer thought he had a gun and pulled out his weapon and shot Blue in his face in front of his 10 year old son. Blue was rushed to the hospital he was in critical condition, Blue died later that night. Police shouldn’t be able to get away with police brutality because officers are responsible
When one thinks of police misconduct many not too distant stories might go through our heads. Most adults will remember how they felt when they saw the brutal beating of Rodney King on their local news station; or the outrage they experienced when they heard that the evidence in the OJ Simpson trial had been tampered with. But thanks to new guidelines, procedures and even civilian groups who now “police” the police, instances of police misconduct may soon start seeing a decline.
It’s has been one year since two NYPD officers were gunned down execution style while sitting in their marked patrol car in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. The ambush horror was met with anger and sadness across the nation as two innocent lives were lost just solely because they wore blue.
Issue: Garner, the suspect’s father brought forth that his unarmed son was wrongfully shot by a police officer as his son was fleeing from the burglary of an unoccupied house. He proposed a
In all the cases listed, they all had different encounters and the same results in the end. Eric Garner was a 43 year old african american, who had six children and three grandchildren. He was illegally selling untaxed cigarettes. There was definitely a valid reason for his arrest but not for him to be choked to death. The victim was not physically or verbally threatening the police officer, he was only trying to tell him that he did nothing wrong. The cop put him in a choke hold and eric garner was heard gasping “I can't breathe”. Sandra Bland was 28 when found dead. She was pulled over for a minor traffic violation. Sandra Bland had a blog discussing police
The Eric Garner case. The officer Daniel Pantaleo, did not get on any charge after putting Garner in a chokehold move is visible, Garners last words were “I can’t breathe.” (Davidson)
Excessive force and police brutality have become common terms for anyone keeping up with today’s current events. In 2014, the media covered numerous cases of excessive force that resulted in the deaths of several people of color (Nelson & Staff, 2014). The most widely covered cases by the media in 2014 were of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black male shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri; and Eric Garner, a 43-year-old black male in Staten Island, New York who was put into a choke by police officer Daniel Pantaleo until he lost consciousness and stopped breathing (Nelson & Staff, 2014). These cases brought attention to the seriousness of police brutality and the curiosity of how often it occurs (Brown, 2015).
The officers did not arrest him on July 13th, but gave him a warning. On the side note, Mr. Garner was arrested twice in the prior months at the same location due to evading the state tax law. On July 17th, Officer Damico and Pantaleoca came to arrest Mr. Garner. But he resisted his arrest. At the time, the police officers were involved in “broken window policing”. The reason behind making an attempt to arrest Mr. Garner was due to him engaged in the “quality-of-life” offense. When Mr. Garner refused to indict, law enforcement officer Pantaleoca asked for backups, while he made an attempt to arrest Mr. Eric Garner by using the “seatbelt” takedown method which taught at the police academy. By that time four more law enforcement officers came back him up and assisted him to press Mr. Garner against the sidewalk. Afterward, Officer Pantaleoca moved his hand from Mr. Garner’s neck to head while other officers handcuffed him. During that time, he did state that he cannot breathe, although he appeared to be in much distress, according to Sergeant Samantha; Baker, Goodman, Mueller (2015). When the E.M.T arrived at the location, they were uncertain as well if Mr. Garner was falsifying the scenario or not. However, it could have been considered
The use of excessive force by police officers is a topic that continues to make headlines and a study that needs to be done. Although much research has gone into this topic there still is no consensus on why the use of excessive force occurs. Some studies suggest lack of training and/or problems with organization policy/procedures. Law enforcement officers are authorized to use force when necessary, but when the level of force is excessive, however, the actions of the police come under scrutiny. The resulting effects can include; public outrage, scandal, negative reputation for not only the officer but the law enforcement community, and criminal considerations. Although there’s is no concrete definition of excessive force, police
Black Lives Matter began as a social media hashtag that later transformed into a social movement after George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the killing of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year old black boy. The social media hashtag did not pick up until November 25, 2014 (Demby); the day police officer Darren Wilson was not indicted after shooting and killing of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year old black boy. Quickly after the decision was heard, “#blacklivesmatter” came to life via thousands of protestors. Unfortunately, this was not the last injustice to cause a Black Lives Matter protest. Shortly after, about a week and a half later, another grand jury decides to not indict another officer for the murder of Eric Garner. Eric Garner was put in a chokehold that eventually led to his death in NYC, even though the NYPD prohibits use of chokeholds. When the decision was made to not indict the officer, thousands of protestors took to the streets of NYC, Dallas, and several other major cities. The murders of Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and several others sparked similar, if not larger, protest across the country.