Eric Garner Case

• There is an altercation between Officer Wilson and Mr. Brown, who is standing at the window of the vehicle. Officer Wilson fires two shots from inside the vehicle, one likely grazing Mr. Brown’s thumb, and the other missing him. Mr. Brown runs east. Officer Wilson pursues him on foot. Mr. Brown stops and turns toward Officer Wilson, who also stops. Mr. Brown moves toward Officer Wilson, who fires several more shots. Mr. Brown is fatally wounded.10

Evidence and Applicable Laws

There were a number of unique aspects of the grand jury proceedings for this case in comparison to most. One of the main differences that stood out for me was that the Officer facing the indictment testified. Usually the defendant does not testify but Officer Wilson did for four hours. Also unlike in the Eric Garner case, the grand jury released all the evidence and testimony after the grand jury decision was made. They were

This of course resulted in anger and outrage causing protests, vandalism, and more unnecessary crimes and violence. There being a possibility that race did play a factor in the outcome of these trials the point that I rather focus on is how even if there was no racial factor to consider the verdicts should have still gone the other way. Deadly force is an act that can’t later be reversed or rectified if misused so unless a police officer is put in a life threatening situation deadly force should not come into play. In the Eric Garner and Mike Brown encounters there were specific moments where the deaths of the two victims could have been avoided. Choking or shooting an unarmed suspect should never be considered reasonable force. The officers in these cases both believed that they acted within the parameters of the stand-your-ground law or the fact that law enforcement officers have the privilege of using reasonable force to apprehend a