A Policeman Kills A Man For Selling One Untaxed Cigarette
On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner, an African-American, died in the Staten Islandsection of New York City after a police officer put him in a chokehold. The New York City Medical Examiner's Office concluded that Garner died as a result of the chokehold. New York City Police Department(NYPD) policy prohibits the use of chokeholds and law enforcement personnel contend that it was a headlock and that no choking took place.
After Garner expressed to the police that he was tired of being harassed and that he was not selling cigarettes, officers moved to arrest Garner on suspicion of selling "loosies" (single cigarettes) from packs without tax stamps. When officer Daniel Pantaleo who is white took Garner's wrist behind his back, Garner swatted his arms away. Pantaleo then put his arm around the much taller Garner's neck and pulled him backwards and down onto the ground. After Pantaleo removed his arm from Garner's neck, he pushed Garner's head into the ground while four officers moved to restrain Garner, who repeated "I can't breathe" eleven times while lying face-down on the sidewalk. After Garner lost consciousness, officers turned him onto his side to ease his breathing. Garner remained lying on the sidewalk for seven minutes while the officers waited for an ambulance to arrive. The officers and EMTs did not perform CPR on Garner at the scene; according to a spokesman for the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association of the City of New York. Garner was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital approximately one hour later.
Medical examiners concluded that Garner was killed by "compression of neck (choke hold), compression of chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police", though no damage to his windpipe or neck bones was found. The medical examiner ruled Garner's death a homicide, indicating that his death was caused by the intentional actions of another person or persons.
Because of slanted evidence presented by the politically ambitious Staten Island District Attorney, Daniel Donovan, on December 3, 2014, a grand jury decided not to indict Pantaleo. Then, Donovan, a Republican, said that he will run for Congress to fill the seat vacated by Congressman Michael Grimm, a Republican, who was indicted for corruption. Donovan received strong support from New York Republicans, such as former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and is considered the frontrunner for thenomination.
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Stop and Frisk
The New York City Stop-Question-and-Frisk Program more commonly known as just "Stop-and-Frisk, is a practice of the New York City Police Department in which police officers stop and question any pedestrian, then frisk them for weapons and other contraband. About 684,000 people were stopped in 2011 and the vast majority of these people were African-American or Latino. Many N.Y.C. judges have found that these stops are not based on any reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. But, in response to allegations that the program unfairly targeted minorities Mayor Michael Bloomberg stated that this is because African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans are more likely to be violent criminals.
On August 12, 2013, U.S. District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled that the stop and frisk practice was unconstitutional and directed the N.Y.C. Police to adopt a written policy to specify where such stops are authorized Scheindlin appointed a former chief lawyer for the City of New York to oversee the program. Bloomberg appealed the ruling.
Bill de Blasio, who succeeded Bloomberg as mayor in 2014, pledged to reform the stop-and-frisk program, and called for new leadership at the NYPD, an inspector general, and a strong anti-racial profiling bill. As a result of several court ruling, the police have curtailed the number of stop and frisk; however, they still happen disproportionately in New York City's African-American and Latino neighborhoods. And, the police blame de Blazio for siding with the minorities against the police. There has been no upsurge in crime since de Blazio took office.
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New York City Police Refuse To Do Their Job
On the sidewalk of a public housing development in Brooklyn, New York City, an area which is mostly poor and notorious for gang violence and drug activity, the words "Fascist pig, go home!" in black spray paint are fading but still legible on a building.. These are the Marcy Houses, 27 brick H-block buildings, each six stories high, that are home to nearly 4,300 people, many of whom are African-American or Latino. The rapper Jay-Z, who grew up in the complex, described Marcy as "a block away from hell," the place where "news cameras never come," in a song called Where I'm From. In recent years, Marcy has had a group of very reliable visitors who do not live in the area. They are the police who patrol on foot and in cars as part of a controversial "broken windows" strategy that focuses on cracking down on small crimes to prevent bigger ones. Until three weeks ago, they had been an ever-present, highly visible presence in Marcy Houses. But now, the police have all but disappeared, raising safety concerns among some residents while pleasing others who view the police strategy as oppressive. A reporter saw only one police car on a visit on Thursday, January 8, 2015.
The shooting of two police officers in their patrol car a block away from the development on December 20, 2014, has widened a rift between the police unions and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat who won his election with the biggest majority in New York City history, was accused of making anti-police statements and fuelling a hostile environment for police. de Blasio denied the allegations.
Mayor de Blasio and two of the city’s most prominent police unions, the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association and Sergeants Benevolent Association, have been at war with him for much of his tenure as mayor. Patrick Lynch, the PBA president, blamed de Blasio for creating an atmosphere that led a mentally unstable 28-year-old man to murder two NYPD officers in December.
Police unions and their conservative backers revile de Blasio for tolerating the anti-police brutality protests that roiled the city after a Staten Island (a mostly white, Republican, hyper-conservative and bigoted part of New York City) grand jury voted not to indict a white police officer in the death of Eric Garner, a black man. On the night the decision was announced, de Blasio repeatedly said of the protest movement that black lives matter, and said he warned his bi-racial son about interacting with police. Many in the NYPD recoiled at those remarks.
On three separate occasions, police officers have literally turned their backs on de Blasio in retaliation for de Blasio for allegedly permitting less crime enforcement. In return, de Blasio blasted the “disrespectful” back-turning. It is like the rank-and-file soldiers turning their backs of the U.S. President, their Commander-in-Chief. Why does de Blazio permit it? And, why doesn't de Blazio fire the mayor- appointed police commissioner for tolerating the insulting behavior?
Police department data shows the number of arrests and court summonses has plunged across the city since the shooting. But, it is in higher crime areas like Marcy Houses, and neighborhoods such as Mott Haven in the Bronx, that the lower police profile may be of most concern.
No court summonses were issued in the 79th police precinct, which includes Marcy Houses, in the week following the murder of the two policemen, compared to 401 summonses in the same period in 2013, according to police data. There were only 10 summonses issued last week, compared to 405 a year earlier. New York Police Commissioner William Bratton confirmed for the first time on Friday that there has been a widespread work slowdown by police officers. Police unions deny orchestrating any slowdown.
Marcy Houses resident Nisaa, a 22-year-old black woman who declined to give her last name, pointed to a nearby street corner and said that until a few weeks ago, there was always a patrol car parked there.She thought the decrease in police presence was a good thing because so many of Marcy's residents feared confrontations with the cops. It actually makes people feel better, she said.
Before the December shooting, patrol cars could be seen parked in regular spots along the perimeter of the eight-block compound. Police officers were often seen on the rooftops of the buildings and on foot throughout the complex, according to residents. But, on Thursday, the 8th there were no marked police cars parked in the spots some residents said were their normal posts. One NYPD patrol car circled the complex but did not stop. I drive my husband to work every morning at 3 a.m. and when I would come back they would be there, said Luz Delia, 34, pointing to a parking spot along the edge of the complex. She said she liked parking her car and going back into her apartment knowing they were there. I used to feel more safe. When it was brought to attention by the press, there was no comment from the NYPD. And, the president of the Police Benevolent Association, Patrick Lynch, has repeatedly said the union has not initiated or supported a slowdown, but experts say officers do have discretion in how they choose to enforce some infractions.
If police officers are engaged in a slowdown, it could backfire if it continues, said Robert Snyder, an associate professor at Rutgers University who has written about police and community relations. Police officers are not going to look good if they put on their uniform on and don't fight crime, Snyder said.
More than 11 miles from Marcy Houses lies Mott Haven in the South Bronx. The shops that line the main street of this poor neighborhood, population 91,000, are rarely the name-brand national chains, while music in Spanish spills out onto the streets from small stores. Take the No. 6 train from Manhattan and into the Bronx, and the cars slowly become less white. The Bronx area that includes Mott Haven is almost exclusively black or Latino, according to a U.S. Census data.
Just a few minutes of conversation with residents in the neighborhood is enough to draw out stories of shootings, stabbings, murder, or other violent crime, either experienced personally or witnessed. Police stops are considered a normal part of life, just another every day occurrance.
Yahaira Quinones, 37, said her building was normally patrolled by police under the Clean Halls crime prevention program but I haven't seen that in a while, she said. However, she has noticed fewer police officers in her neighborhood lately. In the past, if she needed to send her teenage daughter to the corner store, she would wait until she saw a cop on the street. Now, she doesn't feel safe sending her daughter out alone any more.