Eric Garner Case

One of the most controversial subjects not only in the realm of law enforcement, but in the United States today is that police are out of control with their “use of force” tactics. It is always a tragedy when someone has to lose their life at the hand of police, but sometimes a little respect and compliance can go a long way. The case with Eric Garner is no different. “On July 17,2014 in Staten Island in New York, Eric Garner was approached by NYPD officers about selling illegal cigarettes. At this point Garner becomes very irritable yelling at police for always trying to arrest him over petty deviant acts. (Garner had been arrest 30 times in his life for crimes ranging from grand larceny to simple possession of marijuana.) While Garner is yelling at police and waving his arms around threateningly, Officer Pantaleo came up behind Garner and tried to place handcuffs on him, Garner then swatted his hands away, after which Pantaleo placed him in a chokehold, and taking him to the ground. After Garner was taken to the ground three other officers jumped on top of him in order to subdue him. About an hour later at the hospital Eric Garner was declared dead” (Shapiro).

In my opinion, it was handled the correct way. Had Garner not been yelling at officers and flailing his arms around I doubt any repercussions would of occurred. I am in no way condoning the killing of unarmed civilians by police officers but, an officers number one concern is going home to see his family every night. There is no magic radar that an officer can point at a suspect to determine if they have a weapon on them or not. What if Garner was armed and four officers were slaughtered because they approached him about selling his illegal cigarettes? So yes based on my research the only person responsible for Eric Garner’s death was Eric