Ferguson / Staten Island Decisions -- No Indictments

I think most are in agreement that the choke hold was against NYPD policy but not
"illegal" as many of the TV talkers are saying for effect.

Choke hold is outlawed by The NYS Athletic Commission though and cannot be used
in WWE NYS events.

 

Eric Garner's neighborhood sounds great.

I can't imagine why the residents would like to see an increased police presence and better enforcement of petty crime:

A rattled Staten Island landlord repeatedly contacted the cops about the nightmare on Bay St.: dope dealers, cigarette peddlers, public urination, threats of rape and assault.

Then Eric Garner, a suspected seller of untaxed cigarettes, died in the midst of his July 17 arrest. A month later, things on the block are even more out of control.

“It has only gotten worse, much worse, since Eric died,” the landlord told the Daily News ahead of Sunday’s one-month anniversary of Garner’s death.

“Now the police, they don’t want to have another incident there so they have a hands-off approach,” said the landlord, who asked not to be identified. “Anyway you slice it, it’s a mess.”

Things certainly didn’t appear any better Friday on the Tompkinsville block where Garner, 43, died after a cop wrapped his neck in a lethal chokehold.

On a bright afternoon in broad daylight, dozens of men and women aimlessly roamed the Bay St. sidewalk. Loiterers stood outside buildings, intimidating the residents and passersby.

One man, sitting in a chair, sold loose cigarettes for 75 cents apiece just feet from the spot where Garner collapsed to the sidewalk, fighting for his last breath.

A visibly drunken woman, clutching a large can tucked inside a paper bag, stumbled through Tompkinsville Park as its denizens watched with disinterest from surrounding benches.

Undercover police in unmarked cars occasionally rolled by. One parked for a while and then drove off. No one was arrested.

“They still sell loose cigarettes, they’re selling drugs, they’re hanging out, fighting,” said Randy Vitucci, 60, a driver for Dejoy’s Red Top cabs.

“It quieted down for a little bit right after the memorial, but then it went right back to business as usual,” the cabbie continued. “These people, most of them, don’t live in the neighborhood. They hang out in the park all day long.”

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/neighborhood-eric-garner-died-worse-landlord-article-1.1905990

 

It's not a stupid thing to be hung up on.

You falsely stereotyped cops. You wouldn't stand for that kind of stereotyping of other groups. Apologize and move on.

Defending you bias makes you look foolish.

 

Also ... this implication (that you're making) that some policemen just say, "Fuck it, he's a criminal, I'll go ahead and take him out." ... It might be true on occasion, but I don't recall any such narrative being advanced in the Ferguson/Staten Island cases.

 

Well, the discussion pertains to how much faith we should have in police officers to carry out their jobs in ways that protect and respect our civil liberties. Most of the Staten Island cops (and fire fighters) I know are former high school and collegiate athletes who while reasonably intelligent were not particularly interested in academics, either. I'm sure there are exceptions.

 

Hey 1600 and The DOJ don't care about civil liberties, why should the cops?

 

Garner was selling loosies for 50 cents. Another tragic consequence in all this is that the cost of loosies has gone up 50% in the neighborhood since his death.

 

The horror of cigarettes being sold on the corner, tax cheating bastards.

 

He sold cigarettes to an undercover cop. How was he falsely accused?

If you argued that a summons was more appropriate I would agree but
he was not falsely accused.