NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York City grand jury on Wednesday returned no indictment against a white police officer who used a choke hold on Eric Garner, an unarmed black man, while arresting him for illegally selling cigarettes, local media reported.
They said the Staten Island panel decided against criminal charges for Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo.
For those that didn't catch the video first time around....
Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny. Thomas Jefferson
Now I'm not calling this something racially charged, but I will say this one isn't cool.
At least in this case you can CLEARLY see an improper choke hold. Nearly every LE agency in the nation bars the use of choke holds. Where they are used, cops are trained SPECIFICALLY not to do a choke hold in the manner in which he was doing it, with the forearm across the trachea. Why? Because it compresses the trachea, and 4-5 hours later it swells, cuts off his air supply, and he dies. Something tells me that�s exactly what happened here.
So here�s an incident where there were multiple cops, one used a non-approved hold, (it was clearly against department policy) the coroner has even ruled it a homicide. And no charges.
Sorry, but on this one I have to cry foul. Now I�m not calling RACIST foul, I�m just saying that what happened isn�t cool and the grand jury either made a bad call or were misled.
If there exist any cops in the nation that still don�t understand a-how to do a correct choke hold, and b-the risk of an improper choke hold, I�d be shocked.
But if he had underlying medical conditions, the heart attack can be brought on by lack of oxygen. And it�s not how long you hold the arm across the trachea, but how hard. It can be just a second, but if it�s hard swelling can start. I�m betting there�s a reason the ME ruled it a homicide. I think that cop screwed the pooch.
Again, I�m not saying there was anything racial about it. I�m just saying this doesn�t pass the smell test.
If you or I did something to make someone have a heart attack, you and I both know we�d be staring down a manslaughter charge�why is it different for this cop?
