I’m waiting around for a phone call this morning, so I can’t write something coherent at this moment. The news cycle is all about Eric Garner. It’s all depressing. And so distant from my day to day realities. Which is even more depressing. We have to acknowledge the separate realities in our country.
One common reality is the discomfort with the details around Garner’s passing. From the initial takedown with the chokehold to the indifference to his body on the sidewalk. Even local conservatives aren’t happy about what happened. Well, maybe not all.
Apt. 11d 
Typo in the title.
I have nothing to add. Tragic.
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They straight-up strangled a guy on camera and didn’t even meet “probable cause”? I don’t suppose we’ll get the transcript of the grand jury hearing, but I don’t see how that could happen if the prosecutor didn’t work very hard to make it happen.
We have to take prosecutions of police officers out of the hands of local prosecutors who will have to work with the rest of the police for to do their jobs. That probably won’t fix the problem, but I don’t see how you can get a fix without that.
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I think a special prosecutor is in order for every case of police brutality/misconduct. The lines are too blurred with prosecutors to make unbiased decisions about law enforcement when they have to work with them on a daily basis. Also, a special prosecutor is a far better judge of what should go to trial then a grand jury.
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Interesting article by WNYC: http://www.wnyc.org/story/can-the-nypd-spot-the-abusive-cop/
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In the Garner case, there seems to be multiple layers to the stupidity. There was the way that took down the guy. And then they failed to help the guy who was cuffed and struggling. As I watched the second video, I kept thinking “why is this guy still cuffed?” The cuffs were cutting off his air. He needed oxygen. Don’t the cops have that in their cars? Even if they don’t, the EMS lady should have given it to him right away. She was more concerned with how she was going to get him on the stretcher. Nobody on the scene looked alarmed or worried. He was still alive when EMS arrived.
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