Medical Examiner Rules Eric Garner's Death A Homicide

[N'Zinga Shani]

All of the headlines mean the same thing: Eric Garner was killed by NYPD

HOMICIDE: Medical Examiner Says NYPD Chokehold Killed Eric Garner

Medical Examiner Rules Eric Garner's Death A Homicide

Police Choke-hold killed NY Man.

The death of 43 Year-old Eric Garner, a husband and father of three, is ruled a HOMICIDE by the New York City Medical Examiner. “The autopsy also found that compressions to the chest and “prone positioning during physical restraint by police” killed Garner. The manner of death, according to the medical examiner, was homicide.”   

Already the Police Union is blaming the victim by saying if he had not resisted arrest he would not have died!  If Mr. Garner was indeed selling cigarettes illegally, he was trying to earn money rather than being a burden to society. He was not robbing anyone. “The 43-year-old dad died July 17 after cops on Staten Island attempted to arrest him for selling untaxed cigarettes.”  One must ask – what other real crimes were taking place on Staten Island at the same time that four police officers and paramedics (who did not help) were arresting Mr. Garner? In fact, the two paramedics and two EMTs seemed derelict in their duties.

 Daniel Pantaleo put Mr. Garner in a chokehold.  This was an illegal act. The NYPD has prohibited the use of choke-holds in 1993.  Why is it still being used when Mr. Garner was simply trying to get the police to talk to him?  He could be heard repeatedly telling police “I can’t breathe.” “'Thank God the truth is finally out,' the man's widow said Friday after the report was unveiled.”  It will be interesting to see how the Justice system works in this case.  Had a Good Samaritan (civically engaged person) not video-recorded the incident, the entire episode would most likely not see the light of day. As have happened so many times before, many in our society -- whose lives are less valued by our social system-- have met untimely deaths at the hands of the police without satisfactory explanations.  Let's be grateful for cell phones and civically engaged citizens.  The cover-up of Mr. Garner's death was very much in operation before they knew they were recorded.

Read this article: New York City police sought to cover up use of chokehold in death of Eric Garner - The New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers who filed a report on the choking death of Staten Island resident Eric Garner omitted crucial information about their conduct and the victim’s health, according to media outlets that were able to obtain access to NYPD files.  Sgt. Dhanan Saminath is quoted as saying that the police were “maintaining control of him” and that he “did not appear to be in great distress.” Everyone heard Garner saying: " I can't breathe!"

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/07/24/nypd-j24.html?view=artic...

Officer Daniel Pantaleo, 29 (the officer who implemented the chokehold), has been accused of false arrest and violating police procedures in two previous lawsuits, court records show. A second officer was also put on desk duty after the deadly Staten Island clash.  It has been reported that Pantaleo has harassed Garner on previous occasions.  Injustice everywhere affects justice everywhere.  How can the life of a 43 year-old father be worth less than the value of the taxes on a few cigarettes? This is not to condone breaking the law; however, our police officers need to be taught how to utilize measured response. When it comes to the poor, the uneducated, Hispanics, Blacks and poor immigrants, the response of some police officers, in CT and across the nation, needs to be tempered.  Black men are almost always perceived as violent and therefore  exaggerated force is often applied, and they are more often arrested and physically assaulted for lesser crimes.  The disrespectful and harsh manner in which many police officers approach Black and Hispanics in general often provokes an equivalent response.  It is time that police departments across the nation take a close look at how police officers respond to incidents involving Black people in general, and younger Black and Hispanic men in particular.  It is also time that there is sustained citizen activism to demand accountability and put an end to repeated incidents of "murder by cops."

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/eric-garner-death-rul...

HOMICIDE: Medical examiner says NYPD chokehold killed ...

Medical Examiner Rules Eric Garner's Death a Homicide ...

www.nbcnewyork.com/.../Eric-Garner-Chokehold-Police-Custod.

Police choke hold killed NY man, medical examiner says ...

www.cnn.com/2014/08/01/justice/...choke-hold-death/index.html

Learn more about Officer Pantaleo from this article:

Audiophile Life — Pictured above is 8 year veteran NYPD ...

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