Police Brutality And Black Victims

“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.

9 shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old who had scuffled with Ferguson officer Darren Wilson, came just a few weeks after Eric Garner — an unarmed black man accused of illegally selling cigarettes — died in a struggle with white New York City officers. Garner’s death was captured by an onlooker’s video. Brown’s was not, and word quickly spread that he had been shot while surrendering with his hands up — an assertion uncorroborated by state and federal investigations.

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

Four years ago Danroy “DJ” henry Jr. from Easton, Ma, was killed by a New york police officer. Since then the nation seen the death of trayvon Martin who was kiilled by a neighborhood watch volunteer and Michael brown who recently just got killed by a policeman in Ferguson, Missoury. However, the story of Eric Garner is shown to be an ongoing issue between Eric Garner and the New york police department weeks prior to the incident. In the video, Garner is seeing expressing to the policeman that he was tired of being harassed by the same policeman and he was not selling cigarettes. During the whole conversation more officers started to approach the scene and eventually as Garner was speaking the officers moved to arrest a much taller Eric Garner. After Garner resisted the arrest, officer daniel pantaleo approached garner and put him in what is an illegal chokehold and brought him to the ground. Four other officers restrained Garner in the sidewalk where he repeated “ I cant Breathe” 11 times to the police officers that was in the scene. After the incident the police department stated it was an unfortunate situation of man who had previous altercation with the police prior to july 17th 2014. After the incident medical examiners determine Garner’s cause of death was due to neck compression, and the compression of his chest and contributing health factors such as asthma and cardiovascular condition that correlates with his death. On December 3rd 2014 a grand jury decided not to

After this case found itself all over media, several other incidents of police violence followed suit. Eric Garner was another such case, in which a man was placed in a non-regulation chokehold by a New York police officer that ultimately took part in his death. Garner was apprehended for selling illegal cigarettes, and attempting to continue walking away when officers tried to stop him. This incident coined the protest phrase “I can’t breathe”, something that Garner said while in the chokehold. The media was eager to light the fire under

On July 17, 2014, a New York City Police Department (NYPD) Officer, Daniel Pantaleo, placed Mr. Garner in a chokehold (Rahel Gebreyes, 2015). As a result, Mr. Garner later died and an autopsy showed that his passing was a direct result of the choke hold. With that said, the entire incident was captured on video by an onlooker on his cell phone; which some would argue had a better viewpoint than a video from a body‐mounted camera would have (Rahel Gebreyes, 2015). Even with the video footage, a grand jury still chose not to indict Officer Pantaleo.

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).

In today’s world, police brutality has become a type of misconduct that American police officers are getting accustomed to utilizing against American citizens. On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner died in Staten Island, New York after ununiformed police officer Daniel Pantaleo placed Garner into a chokehold after Pantaleo had attempted to arrest Garner for selling untaxed cigarettes. After being put into a chokehold for fifteen seconds, Garner became unconscious and suffered a cardiac arrest while being transported to the hospital (Goldstein and Schweber). According to the National Police Misconduct Reporting Project in Figure 1, 23.8% of 6,613 officers were accused of using excessive force among people. In recent years, cases of police brutality

brutality? ) Eric Garner was unarmed and had not provoked the officer in any way, the office

On Saturday, Eric Garner’s mother spoke to the thousands of demonstrators who took the streets in protest to Garner’s unlawful death, she said, “Keep on doing it, but do it in peace.” Garner was a New York shop owner, known for illegally selling cigarettes. Daniel Pantelo, the officer responsible for locking Garner in the choke hold, responded to a 911 call about Garner illegally selling cigarettes once again. Officer Pantelo pulled Garner into a choke hold after refusing to talk with Pantelo and his colleagues. Garner pleaded,

The black man,we can see in the image above, was Eric Garner, who was stopped by the police for selling cigarettes. Although the individual was not aggressive or threatening, before police stopped him, “the situation quickly worsened when four officers tackled him to the ground and mounted him.”- said a citizen- “He eventually suffocated to death.”

However, in more recent times, there has been numerous occasions where police officers have abused their power and exhibited behavior that are not consistent to what they were trained. These police officers have taken their power above their powers and in some people’s opinions, above the law. In a recent event, a man by the name of Eric Garner was placed in a chokehold by a New York police officer. A video was taken of the episode and it clearly shows Mr. Garner struggling to breath and screaming for his life. After several moments of constant, desperate cries for help, Eric Garner went completely limp.

On July 17, 2014 Eric Garner died from the chokehold of a police officer. After separating a fight in Staten Island officers questioned Gardner about his illegal selling of “loosies”. Loosies are cigarettes sold individually (Collins Dictionary, 2015). When Gardner resisted arrest officer Daniel Pantaleo put his arm around Gardner’s neck and forced him to the ground. Gardner repeated “I can’t breathe” eleven times while he laid on the sidewalk. CPR was not performed on Garner and he was pronounced dead at the hospital an hour later. In 1993, chokeholds were banned by the New York City Police Department but it is not prohibited by the New York City law (Scheller, 2014).

He attempted to jump a fence when the officer shot him in the head and he died in the hospital later that night. Garner’s father sued because he

I watched in shock as the man was taken down with a chokehold by the officer, and then four other officers joined in the attempt to restrain the man. The man repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe” while being held face down in a chokehold and restrained by five officers until losing consciousness. Racial bias has been a big source of controversy in our society today because of the many cases of police brutality that have been recorded and seen by the public. The police brutality case I was describing in the beginning is Eric Garner’s case who was held in a chokehold and restrained by five other officers that rendered him unconscious and led to his death because police suspected him of selling single cigarettes without tax stamps. There are also articles that have expressed their opinion on the topic of racial bias in our law enforcement today because of the many recorded cases similar to Eric Garner’s. One such article that brings my attention is the American Civil Liberties Union article “Racial Justice”, where they talk about topics such as racial profiling and bias in the criminal justice system. In the article they express their opinion on an example of racial bias known as racial profiling which has been used by the law enforcement and is one of the main reasons why law enforcement target people of color. They also express how racial profiling has been the cause for detentions, interrogations, and searches without evidence of criminal activities based on race, ethnicity,