Eric Garner: A Race For Justice Today

A “Race” for Justice Today Eric Garner, a father of six, was a forty-three year old black man known to his community as a “funny, larger-than-life, selfless, thoughtfully complex businessman”. He was a peacekeeper, and on the morning of July 17, 2014, even stopped a fight between two of his friends in the street. Afterwards, he leaned up against the wall to catch his breath and was approached by police. They gruffly ordered him to get in a squad car and attempted to arrest him, without giving any reason for his arrest (Baker, Goodman, and Mueller). Garner was confused. He was not doing anything illegal and the crime they finally accused him of, selling untaxed cigarettes, was not even considered a misdemeanor (Gross). They grabbed his arms and tried to force him into the squad car and he responded by

Officer Daniel Pantaleo then put an arm around his neck and under his arm and rammed him against the ground. The other police officer present suggested letting go of the strict hold, but Pantaleo did not listen. He instead continued to pull his arm tighter around Garner’s neck and place him in a chokehold. Eric Garner was recorded to have yelled “I can’t breathe” eleven times as the officer relentlessly choked him to death while bystanders recorded and watched helplessly (Gross). In the police report, there was never a mention of the use of a chokehold. As video of the encounter surfaced, the world no longer believed the officers who classified a heart attack as Garner’s cause of death . Despite video evidence of the excessive use of force, Officer Pantaleo still works for the New York police department, receives benefits and has never been charged with the murder of Eric Garner (Parascandola). This is just one story out