Protests after N.Y. cop not indicted in chokehold death; feds reviewing case
Another police officer was not indicted after killing an unarmed man. Eric Garner was choked to death in July while he was being arrested for selling untaxed cigarettes, a rather minor offense. Not only was he unarmed, but the chokehold is prohibited from police use. In reaction, protestors took to the streets of New York on Wednesday to fight the corruption of the criminal justice system and the unjust discrimination against racial minorities.
A similar case happened in Ferguson, Missouri, which as resulted and riots and anarchy. I don't have much comment on this matter because I haven not gathered enough information besides what I have heard at school and to form an educated opinion. I do think that the policeman in Eric Garner's homicide should have been indicted and probably sent to jail; the video shows that Garner was not threatening the officer or others. However, the case of Michael Brown is much more obscure to me since there is only witnesses to the incident and no actual video. Either way I think racial discrimination is a HUGE issue in our society and justice system, and the only way to fix it is to prosecute those who are guilty.
The death of the man is a very unfortunate and sad thing and I think the cop overreacted and unnecessarily killed the man. However, I do not believe that the Ferguson killing and the NY killing were racially motivated like the protesters and some news outlets like to believe.
ReplyDeleteI think racially motivated killings by cops are extremely rare and very over dramatized. People over react. It is a touchy subject, but no cop is dumb enough to kill an innocent black man... I think...
ReplyDeleteI thouvht that the Ferguson decision was correct, but this one is just ridiculous. Obviously this police officer should have been sent to jail for a long time. He not only abused his power but killed a man in the process. I think that usually the racial motivation is usually not existent. This was just a case of an unintelligent man given too much power.
ReplyDeleteThis event has completely shocked me. It is a complete 180 from the Ferguson case. I feel that the officer should be jailed for a long time, and I do support the protesters' movements in New York, as long as they are peaceful. Yes, Matthew, racial issues are big right now, but I feel this was completely unnecessary.
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