General

I don't get why the reports always say that the cop choked him...and later he died. Makes it sound like a lot later.

@Luapxal344: absolutely right, but at the same time the TRAINED officers should also have let up when he repeatedly stated he could not breath.
Also the guy who recorded this video has now been indited..........

@Luapxal344 have you even watched the video? lmao no where in there did the officers tell him to "sit down" Eric told them not to touch him and they basically attacked the guy and pulled him to the ground....

[quote=0kevqn]@dablunt: He's 400 pounds, it's not going to take one person, and I'm sure the majority of people getting arrested forcefully will say "I can't breath"[/quote]

400lbs of fatness. Have you ever seen a hamplanet try to walk up stairs? By the time they walk up 10 steps, their t-shirt is drenched in sweat and they're huffing and puffing gasping for Oxygen. Everything is harder when ur fat and also harder for people handling fat ppl. but i agree, the man should've just sad down and did what the officers told.

@xreminiscing:
@Tashie:

it's difficult to reason with and explain such things to people who insist on remaining ignorant. i've learned from watching people on social media try with racists and neutrals regarding ferguson. just know that empathy and facts override an opinion that has nothing other than racism and victim blaming to support it

If you actually look at the video the person who recorded it clearly states that he was there and BROKE UP A FIGHT yeah maybe he was caught selling cigarettes at a cheaper price....who the heck cares people do that on a daily basis but this man was standing there telling the cops to leave him alone; again you hear him say "everytime you see me you wanna mess with me and I'm sick and tired of it, it ends today ask anyone around I didn't do nothing" clearly these cops have been harassing this man on more than one account, now he tells them "please don't touch me please don't touch me" sorry but no where in there does that say oh let me come from behind and put you in a choke hold while my 4 other officers help me out; he did NOTHING to provoke the cops into doing what they did and @0kevqn I do think you should look at the video and see the whole point; so what if he was overweight they still pulled him to the floor and you'll see that for yourself. Unless you're deaf and can't hear "i cant breathe" 11 times and can't process that into your own mind that something is wrong; you should not be a dam cop in the 1st place cause clearly you have no humanity in you to justify listening to that and now watching a man you helped pull down to the ground, not breathing. AND ALL 5 OF THEM STOOD THERE no one helped him no one did CPR on him just left him there >.< it's sickening to watch. Who cares if they didn't know he had a heart problem or if he had asthma he kept telling them he couldn't breathe once or twice is more than enough to say listen guys hold off a bit....but nope no one said any such thing

@0kevqn Did you even look at the video? He never got physically violent or aggressive towards the cops. He had his arms in the air while trying to verbally defend himself. Even with his size, the five cops combined could have easily forced handcuffs onto him since he wasn't fighting back. The choking part was absolutely not necessary, regardless of whether or not he did something illegal or resisted arrest. And even if you think choking him was the only way to get him onto the ground and handcuff him, there was no reason for the cop to continue choking him and shove his head into the ground when he was already down with five officers on top of him. Also, you keep mentioning that he's overweight. Do you think that he would have had the physical ability to fight back against five cops that are on top of him?

This is pretty depressing how cops can be free if they murder someone.

@BigHero6 .... that's either a bad joke or you just dont know what your talking about. Survival of the fittest would be applicable in situations of great disaster where hunting and fighting for food, water, and shelter are necessary.

It's called survival of the fittest, which he clearly wasn't.

I'm so proud of everyone protesting in NYC right now. Columbus circle is completely shut down, it's gonna be a long night

P.S. [url=http://www.mediaite.com/tv/fox%E2%80%99s-judge-napolitano-unlike-ferguson-eric-garners-killer-should-have-been-indicted/]yep[/url], even someone from FOX news agrees the officer should have been indicted. The weeks to follow should be very interesting indeed

[quote=0kevqn]@natalie: They didn't intend on killing him and no one knew he had asthma[/quote]

And these kinds of concerns aren't considered? They should just take their chances and never give suspects the benefit of the doubt?

@natalie: They didn't intend on killing him and no one knew he had asthma

[quote=0kevqn]@evyxx: This was a 400 pound man, what do you think they should have done?[/quote]

things that you are saying:
- garner committed a crime by illegally selling cigarettes but the officer didn't commit a crime by illegally putting garner in chokehold and killing him
- you can commit murder but DON'T YOU DARE SELL UNTAXED CIGARETTES OR LOOK INTIMIDATING
- due to his weight (he's 350 lbs, but according to you 0 lb is the same as 50 lbs), the officers had no other choice but to pin him down, sit on him, press his face down to the concrete, and ignore his shouting that he couldn't breathe
- asthmatics have no choice but to surrender if they are ever harassed and attacked by cops to prevent breathing problems and potential death
- 400 pounds fat fat morbidly obese 400 pounds 400 pounds 400 pounds

@evyxx I wish I could be in the city right now protesting, but I'm home making dinner instead. I'm really proud of everyone out there protesting, and praying they interrupt the rockefeller tree lighting - the culture clash going on right now is just ridiculous

watching this live stream sure is fun

so a black person sold [b]illegal[/b] cigs and [b]resisted arrest[/b] died because he was too fat to breathe correctly?

good job to the cop for keeping the streets clean

@0kevqn your probably right, with a heart condition due to his weight the taser might have been to much for him to handle. Its easy for all of us to talk about what could have been done differently after the fact, but at the end of the day something should have been done cop(s) involved in this incident

@eeelyk: That'd probably kill him too, he was morbidly obese

@dablunt: He's 400 pounds, it's not going to take one person, and I'm sure the majority of people getting arrested forcefully will say "I can't breath"

@0kevqn it dosnt matter at this point whether the sold cigarettes illegaly or broke up some fight up since it took four officers to take him down, one using an illegal chock hold while the others tried at his hands and at some point the officers should have eased up to allow the man to breath. What was he gonna do? Run away from the cops? very unlikely.

This kind of aggression is for violent offenders not some man on the streets

@SpearCrusher: lol if you're accused of murder you can just walk away? They think he's doing something illegal because he is doing it. He sold illegal cigarettes, not one time. You don't have to read the rights if you're trying to stop him, you can read them when you're bringing him into the police car

r u serious =0? the choke hold is illegal in the nypd but as u see the clearly they did it also for no reason fyi the kid who shot the video was being stalked by cops and was arrested this is crazy

[quote=0kevqn]@SpearCrusher: Why would the cop leave him alone?..[/quote]

Because there's no evidence of him committing a crime at that exact moment. From what Garner said in the video, the cop always walks up to him and harasses him, thinking he's doing something illegal. Nobody called the cops on him (you can check every single article out there, nobody called in a complaint), yet the cops keep trying to harass him. One of them tries to grab him (arrest) without reading his miranda rights first off, without cause and lastly, grabbing anyone forcefully and attempting to pull them towards you is considered assault for normal citizens, not for cops though apparently, even if they didn't do anything to provoke or threaten you.

Also, it was clear the cop wouldn't let him walk away, which is his CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT, but it's ironic that he claims to be on the side of the law by breaking it in several ways.

[quote=Wanton]I don't know what the laws are like over there, but yeah this pretty much disturbs me.
Are cops even allowed to put people in choke holds? Is that a form of restraint on a citizen cause I really don't know and am curious...[/quote]
no theyre not. This dude didnt deserve to die for selling cigarettes. Forget Ferguson, where are the protests for this person at?

@SpearCrusher: Why would the cop leave him alone?..

@0kevqn: From what's presented in the video, he tells the cop to leave him alone, yet the cop continues to harass him. You have a constitutional right to NOT talk to cop and harassing someone is against the law believe it or not. People have been imprisoned, fined, etc. for harassment.

Besides, if a random citizen did this to Garner, he'd be convicted instantly, but since the one who did it was a COP, of course they wouldn't convict him. The Grand Jury is affiliated with the NYPD and these types of 'trials' are held in SECRET; information regarding these cases are never fully disclosed. If he's so innocent, why do they need a secret jury and affiliates to make the call rather than the public?

DA's report on death:
http://www.policestateusa.com/2014/eric-garner/
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Grand-Jury-Decision-Eric-Garner-Staten-Island-Chokehold-Death-NYPD-284595921.html

@SpearCrusher: The video starts with the officers there already, they do have a probable cause

@0kevqn: Dude, did you even see the video?

[quote=0kevqn]He shouldn't have resisted arrest, I don't think he deserved to die, but no one knew he had breathing problems. If you're going to do something illegal, doesn't matter if it's murder or selling cigarettes illegally, the cops are going to come for you. When they do, you don't resist arrest.

None of this would have happened if people can just follow the laws[/quote]

Yes because telling someone not to touch you is a crime. They didn't have a warrant nor any probable cause. You can see that he doesn't have an cigs out clearly; that he's just standing there. Is it illegal to stand now on a PUBLIC street?

Even if he was selling illegally, the worst that they can do is fine him; there is no excuse to kill. He was a TRAINED officer. Chokeholds have been illegal for decades and yet, when he killed Garner in that ILLEGAL fashion, no cops or jury went after him. The system is rigged and cops crooked. He clearly states he can't breathe, yet he continues to choke him, even after he's cuffed and subdued by around ten others.

Police will arrest anyone for petty crimes, yet when they do something like murder, no indictment. What I'm saying is: double standard. Someone does something illegal so you do something illegal to them (chokehold) to show them how wrong they are, and kill them on the side, which is also illegal, except if you're a cop.

@AbsymalTorment: They were trying to arrest him for illegally selling cigarettes, he wouldn't accept that

[quote=0kevqn]@evyxx: But how do the cops get a 400 pound man down resisting arrest?[/quote]

By acting like human beings and talking to him.

@evyxx: But how do the cops get a 400 pound man down resisting arrest?

@0kevqn: ....not put him in a choke hold because that's illegal in any circumstance? Just a thought.

@evyxx: This was a 400 pound man, what do you think they should have done?

@0kevqn: Or move the chokehold into something else restraining but not restricting his breath..?

@evyxx: You think he's the first to say that when the police are stopping someone with force? "I can't breathe" "oh okay, you can escape"

@0kevqn: What part of [b]illegal[/b] don't people understand. It's clearly stated by others and many sources that NYPD doesn't allow for the utilization of choke holds. Yet, the officer thought it would be dandy to use a 'choke hold'. As the police force, shouldn't you uphold the rules, laws, and regulations that you took an oath under? Doesn't it seem [i]kind of[/i] useless to have a police force targeting criminals, if the police force is composed of [i]some[/i] criminals themselves. [b]Oh the irony[/b].

@0kevqn: Ok, what he did was illegal, I get it. How does that call for an ILLEGAL, IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES chokehold? Or for ignoring him when he tried to tell the officer he couldn't breathe? Or for waiting 10 minutes to attempt resuscitation? How are you blaming him for getting murdered.

@RLxBellz: They wouldn't have gone after him if he didn't resist

[quote=0kevqn]@evyxx: Once again, don't do anything illegal or resist arrest and none of this happens[/quote]

You're [i]totally[/i] right. If the NYPD didn't perform an illegal choke-hold, maybe we could have prevented another unnecessary death.

@evyxx: Once again, don't do anything illegal or resist arrest and none of this happens

@0kevqn: Actually, the primary reason for his death was the chokehold. He died of a heart attack as a result of being choked and unable to breathe. They waited almost 10 minutes until they attempted to resuscitate. It was absolutely 100% a homicide, just a question of if it was justified or not in order to understand if it's worth putting the officer on trial. And considering chokeholds are illegal as well as lethal force is a LAST OPTION when the officer's life is in immediate danger, well, I don't think he's innocent.

[quote=MateoCl]Lets assume he was resisting arrest. That doesn't change the fact that he was strangled to death by a police officer, which is both illegal because of his use of a chokehold and the fact that an officer can only use lethal force under threat of serious injury or death.

It depends on the police department. Some allow it some don't. NYPD does not allow the use of chokeholds in any situation.[/quote]

he wasn't strangled to death, he died because of his breathing problems. Maybe if he wasn't doing something illegal or just obese to begin with he'd be alive

[quote=0kevqn]He shouldn't have resisted arrest, I don't think he deserved to die, but no one knew he had breathing problems. If you're going to do something illegal, doesn't matter if it's murder or selling cigarettes illegally, the cops are going to come for you. When they do, you don't resist arrest.

None of this would have happened if people can just follow the laws[/quote]

Lets assume he was resisting arrest. That doesn't change the fact that he was strangled to death by a police officer, which is both illegal because of his use of a chokehold and the fact that an officer can only use lethal force under threat of serious injury or death.

[quote=Wanton]I don't know what the laws are like over there, but yeah this pretty much disturbs me.
Are cops even allowed to put people in choke holds? Is that a form of restraint on a citizen cause I really don't know and am curious...[/quote]

It depends on the police department. Some allow it some don't. NYPD does not allow the use of chokeholds in any situation.

I don't know what the laws are like over there, but yeah this pretty much disturbs me.
Are cops even allowed to put people in choke holds? Is that a form of restraint on a citizen cause I really don't know and am curious...

@AbsymalTorment: I'm not, but if I get caught doing something illegal I'm not going to act all tough with the cops

[quote=0kevqn]He shouldn't have resisted arrest, I don't think he deserved to die, but no one knew he had breathing problems. If you're going to do something illegal, doesn't matter if it's murder or selling cigarettes illegally, the cops are going to come for you. When they do, you don't resist arrest.

None of this would have happened if people can just follow the laws[/quote]

Define, "resisting arrest". Many cops use excessive force. It happens daily. Has happened to me and many of my friends.

[quote=0kevqn]He shouldn't have resisted arrest, I don't think he deserved to die, but no one knew he had breathing problems. If you're going to do something illegal, doesn't matter if it's murder or selling cigarettes illegally, the cops are going to come for you. When they do, you don't resist arrest.

None of this would have happened if people can just follow the laws[/quote]

Like you're all innocent.

He shouldn't have resisted arrest, I don't think he deserved to die, but no one knew he had breathing problems. If you're going to do something illegal, doesn't matter if it's murder or selling cigarettes illegally, the cops are going to come for you. When they do, you don't resist arrest.

None of this would have happened if people can just follow the laws

This keeps happening constantly. I think that they just don't want to admit that their police system is filled with idiots which would give them a more widespread disapproval rating amongst the people. This doesn't solve the problem however. You can't just be like "oh he just needs some sensitivity training" or even just firing them. This guy committed a crime and being a cop should not bar him from the same punishment that anyone else would receive. Also *insert weed argument here* because that argument should die with a nation wide legalization as well. For some reason this plant needs constant studying even though most other legal substances hold a higher death count and side effects.