Cops kill asthmatic man

PizzamanIRL

He was apparently arrested for breaking up a fight. Whilst being arrested he tells them over and over again that he can't breathe. Do they listen? No. They continue the procedure. Ridiculous.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/19/nyregion/staten-island-man-dies-after-he-is-put-in-chokehold-during-arrest.html?ref=nyregion

The New York Police Department has launched an internal investigation into the death of a 43-year-old man whose final moments were captured in a video in which he can be heard gasping “I can’t breathe” over and over again after an officer is seen placing him in a chokehold, officials said.

The man, Eric Garner, died on Thursday afternoon as plainclothes officers tried to take him into custody on a street on Staten Island on charges of selling cigarettes, according to an account the police have released. A video, posted on the website of The New York Daily News, shows an argument of mounting intensity as Mr. Garner quarrels with a plainclothes officer about whether he would be arrested or not.

One officer, in a T-shirt and shorts, accuses him of selling cigarettes. “I watched you,” he said, to which Mr. Garner replies, “I didn’t do nothing,” and tells the officer, “Please just leave me alone.”

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RELATED COVERAGE

Staten Island Man Dies After Police Try to Arrest HimJULY 17, 2014
“Every time you see me, you want to harass me, you want to stop me,” said Mr. Garner, who had been arrested on about 30 prior occasions, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Photo

Community members gathered to pray in the Tompkinsville neighborhood where Mr. Garner died. Credit Robert Stolarik for The New York Times
The video, apparently recorded by a bystander who watched the scene unfold on Bay Street in the Tompkinsville neighborhood, shows two officers standing near Mr. Garner, a towering man who weighed more than 300 pounds. The video cuts out for a time. Then one plainclothes officer, who had been standing in the background as Mr. Garner argued with the other officer, suddenly moves in, placing his arm around Mr. Garner’s throat and pulling him back against a storefront window before bringing him to the ground.

Mr. Garner can be seen in the video crawling forward, as the officer hangs on, with his arm around Mr. Garner’s throat. Other officers surround Mr. Garner as well.

Mr. Garner can be heard stating, “I can’t breathe,” over and over again. The officer releases Mr. Garner’s throat and, kneeling, presses Mr. Garner’s head into the sidewalk.

Soon a voice captured on the video can be heard saying, “Something’s wrong with him.” Mr. Garner cannot be seen moving in the video.

Because of the danger they can pose, chokeholds are forbidden by the Patrol Guide, a voluminous book that contains rules for officers. “Members of the New York City Police Department will NOT use chokeholds,” the Patrol Guide states, defining chokeholds as any maneuver that places “pressure to the throat or windpipe, which may prevent or hinder breathing or reduce intake of air.”

It has been many years since the police’s use of chokeholds created controversy in New York City. In 1994 a security guard, Anthony Baez, died in the Bronx after a police officer put him in a chokehold during a dispute over a touch-football game. After the officer, Francis X. Livoti, was acquitted in state court on homicide charges, he was found guilty in federal court and served a seven-year sentence for violating Mr. Baez’s civil rights.

The Police Department’s chief spokesman, Stephen P. Davis, did not return messages seeking comment.

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The office of the Staten Island district attorney, Daniel M. Donovan, is also involved in the inquiry.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, in a statement on Friday, said, “We are harnessing all resources available to the city to ensure a full and thorough investigation of the circumstances of this tragic incident.”

The Civilian Complaint Review Board, an outside agency that investigates allegations of police abuse, received 233 allegations involving chokeholds in 2013, making up slightly more than four percent of the overall complaints it received involving excessive force.

From 2009 to 2013, the review board’s investigations upheld only nine allegations involving chokeholds. The dispositions of more than 400 other allegations involved findings in which the officers were cleared of wrongdoing or the review board did not have enough evidence to reach a finding of what had occurred.

On Thursday night, the Police Department released a short statement saying that Mr. Garner went into cardiac arrest after officers had tried to arrest him. He was pronounced dead a short time later at Richmond University Medical Center on Staten Island.

The officers involved in trying to arrest Mr. Garner were members of a plainclothes anti-crime team on Staten Island, the law enforcement official said.

creolebelle

The pics are horrible to look at. Sometimes the Nypd can be too aggressive

gctest50

Saying he suffered a heart attack during the arrest now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-5UY9I1EbU

Resonator75

Murder.

IronicNic

“Every time you see me, you want to harass me, you want to stop me,” said Mr. Garner, who had been arrested on about 30 prior occasions,

Ah the poor lad ..why wont they leave these criminals alone?
Cops have a really tough job and thank God some people sacrifice their own lives and well-being to protect us ..if there is collateral damage so be it ..

"We sleep safely in our beds because 'rough' men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm."

Seedy Arling

An asthmatic selling smokes? Hmm...

Resonator75

IronicNic wrote: »

“Every time you see me, you want to harass me, you want to stop me,” said Mr. Garner, who had been arrested on about 30 prior occasions,

Ah the poor lad ..why wont they leave these criminals alone?
Cops have a really tough job and thank God some people sacrifice their own lives and well-being to protect us ..if there is collateral damage so be it ..

"We sleep safely in our beds because 'rough' men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm."

yeah, he deserved to choke to death Nic, well said.

Walter Mitty fantisist much?? Supose you think you are one of these hard men standing by to protect us. Dont use Orwell to promote things that would disgust him. Ironically Nic, he was completely against state brutality. Id call you a name now but Ive been banned so many times here I cant be arsed.

IronicNic

The size of him!! ..and resisting arrest ..hardly NYPD fault that he is was a fat unhealthy slob of a criminal.


Mr. Garner quarrels with a plainclothes officer about whether he would be arrested or not.

Yamanoto

Resonator75 wrote: »

Murder.

Negative

Hotfail.com

IronicNic wrote: »

The size of him!! ..and resisting arrest ..hardly NYPD fault that he is was a fat unhealthy slob of a criminal.

I imagine you're a credit to society with an attitude like that.

Resonator75

Yamanoto wrote: »

Negative

OK. Manslaughter?

131spanner

Yep, cardiac arrest is mentioned in another article.

Something doesn't add up about the whole thing, I wouldn't jump to branding the cops as murderers just yet. Heavy handed possibly, but murderers? I wouldn't be so sure...

IronicNic

Hotfail.com wrote: »

I imagine you're a credit to society with an attitude like that.

Don't get personal.I am only commenting on the video.

creolebelle

IronicNic wrote: »

“Every time you see me, you want to harass me, you want to stop me,” said Mr. Garner, who had been arrested on about 30 prior occasions,

Ah the poor lad ..why wont they leave these criminals alone?
Cops have a really tough job and thank God some people sacrifice their own lives and well-being to protect us ..if there is collateral damage so be it ..

"We sleep safely in our beds because 'rough' men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm."

You're exaggerating. He's wasn't some violent drug dealer or gang member. He shouldn't have been out there breaking the law but he didn't deserve to die. And I don't think the cops should be held responsible for his death. It's a sad series of unfortunate events

Resonator75

creolebelle wrote: »

You're exaggerating. He's wasn't some violent drug dealer or gang member. He shouldn't have been out there breaking the law but he didn't deserve to die. And I don't the cops should be held responsible for his death. It's a sad series of unfortunate events

I half agree with you, the cops should have had some 'cop on' in this situation.
Maybe the training is lacking but the last time I choked a man to death , I was pretty sure the fu k k er was on the way out. Its OK tho he was breaking A law and deserved it for the greater good.

IronicNic

creolebelle wrote: »

You're exaggerating. He's wasn't some violent drug dealer or gang member. He shouldn't have been out there breaking the law but he didn't deserve to die. And I don't think the cops should be held responsible for his death. It's a sad series of unfortunate events

And did they know that at the time? ..what they have is a large man resisting arrest.

creolebelle

Resonator75 wrote: »

I half agree with you, the cops should have had some 'cop on' in this situation.
Maybe the training is lacking but the last time I choked a man to death , I was pretty sure the fu k k er was on the way out. Its OK tho he was breaking A law and deserved it for the greater good.

*sigh* I don't think the police in this situation realized they were hurting him. Sometimes people will pretend to be ill or injured to escape arrest

creolebelle

IronicNic wrote: »

And did they know that at the time? ..what they have is a large man resisting arrest.

That's my point but you're previous posts came across as rather heartless and cold. The man was a husband, a father and a grandfather and it's a tragedy that his life ended this way

Resonator75

creolebelle wrote: »

*sigh* I don't think the police in this situation realized they were hurting him. Sometimes people will pretend to be ill or injured to escape arrest

***double sigh***

When applying physical force to another human being it is YOUR duty to be 200% aware.

Have you any experience in this kind of thing? Have you ever applied or been in a choke hold?

creolebelle

Resonator75 wrote: »

***double sigh***

When applying physical force to another human being it is YOUR duty to be 200% aware.

Have you any experience in this kind of thing? Have you ever applied or been in a choke hold?

I don't think the police should be vilified in this situation.
Luckily I have never been choked or had to choke someone.

Yamanoto

Resonator75 wrote: »

OK. Manslaughter?

Even that wouldn't be clear cut by any means.

Wouldn't surprise me if it was a large rush of adrenaline that caused that chap to go south so quickly.

Resonator75

creolebelle wrote: »

I don't the police should be vilified in this situation.
Luckily I have never been choked or had to choke someone.

At the same time it really is their responsibility. I am all for a strong, pro active police force, god knows inner city Dublin could do with it BUT its the fine line between tough policing and brutality. I think on this one maybe its unintentional brutality while the adrenaline was up.

That would not be a suitable defense in court for you or me tho so why should a police force be treated differently?

SterlingArcher

Shut up crime.

PizzamanIRL

Yamanoto wrote: »

Even that wouldn't be clear cut by any means.

Wouldn't surprise me if it was a large rush of adrenaline that caused that chap to go south so quickly.

Apparently it was a blood choke, which stops blood going to the brain and knocks you out in 3-5 seconds. Anything above 30 seconds can cause death or brain damage.

IronicNic

creolebelle wrote: »

That's my point but you're previous posts came across as rather heartless and cold. The man was a husband, a father and a grandfather and it's a tragedy that his life ended this way

Ok I can imagine his employment opportunities may have being limited ..Perhaps this was the only way he could make a few bucks but he was talking rubbish,doing something illegal ..for all the cops knew he could have a knife or a gun.Many dangerous criminals are also fathers,brother etc ..

creolebelle

Resonator75 wrote: »

At the same time it really is their responsibility. I am all for a strong, pro active police force, god knows inner city Dublin could do with it BUT its the fine line between tough policing and brutality. I think on this one maybe its unintentional brutality while the adrenaline was up.

That would not be a suitable defense in court for you or me tho so why should a police force be treated differently?

All good points. I'm a former New Yorker so I'm more inclined to side with the Nypd as a crime victim. Many police brutality cases have been overturned in court over a perceived threat

Resonator75

IronicNic wrote: »

Ok I can imagine his employment opportunities may have being limited ..Perhaps this was the only way he could make a few bucks but he was talking rubbish,doing something illegal ..for all the cops knew he could have a knife or a gun.Many dangerous criminals are also fathers,brother etc ..

So all vermin must be killed right and you are the arbiter of what is a good and rightly life style? Do you go in for Fascism much?

Bongalongherb

It reminds me of that Kelly Thomas one when he couldn't breath either but they didn't care... they murdered him in cold blood.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1pQnBw-jhc

Fixed Link.

IronicNic

Resonator75 wrote: »

So all vermin must be killed right and you are the arbiter of what is a good and rightly life style? Do you go in for Fascism much?

Yes I am Walter Mitty fantasist fascist..and you got banned for calling people names ?

Resonator75

creolebelle wrote: »

All good points. I'm a former New Yorker so I'm more inclined to side with the Nypd as a crime victim. Many police brutality cases have been overturned in court over the perceived threat excuse

Since I watched The Wire, I got no faith in any city's system. Everyone protectes everyone else. I am half joking of course but you get my drift.

Cops were full on here. no compromise on their parts. Much as I dislike An Garda carry on , ---no scratch that, it probably woudl happen here , just like NYPD.
England has a proper police force. This would have been avoided by all means.

rockbeast

Murder - it was manslaughter until he stated he couldn't breathe. Then they redoubled their efforts to "subdue" him with extra cops arriving.

The american cops/executive are a disgrace to humanity.

They'll probably get suspended for a month on full pay.

Scum. Scum. Scum.

Resonator75

IronicNic wrote: »

Yes I am Walter Mitty fantasist fascist..and you got banned for calling people names ?

I asked, but did not call, please press the report button or reply to the substance of my post.

RoryMac

Police went in a little hard but can't see that they can be blamed for his death, the choke didn't look to be in place for an excessive amount of time and the whole situation could have been avoided by him not resisting arrest.

As someone else said it was an unfortunate chain of events

RedemptionZ

creolebelle wrote: »

I don't the police should be vilified in this situation.
Luckily I have never been choked or had to choke someone.

Well for anyone who has choked someone, for example in martial arts, they would know that the responsibility is on the choker to read the situation as they are the ones applying the force. These are professional police, not some bully from 4th class, they ought to know far better and adrenaline is not an excuse. I hope they get punished for this. Murder? probably not but there is a man dead that should still be alive. The investigation will make of that what they will.

creolebelle

Resonator75 wrote: »

Since I watched The Wire, I got no faith in any city's system. Everyone protectes everyone else. I am half joking of course but you get my drift.

Cops were full on here. no compromise on their parts. Much as I dislike An Garda carry on , ---no scratch that, it probably woudl happen here , just like NYPD.
England has a proper police force. This would have been avoided by all means.

I get it. Lol.
It's pretty much the Wild West over here when it comes to crime. The cops are just as violent as the thugs, and I can't blame the police for that.
I have always felt that the police over here should adopt the British police policy of being unarmed but it wouldn't work over here because of our amendment rights so every nutcase has a gun while our police forces will try to keep order with batons

Yamanoto

PizzamanIRL wrote: »

Apparently it was a blood choke, which stops blood going to the brain and knocks you out in 3-5 seconds. Anything above 30 seconds can cause death or brain damage.

He appears to be out of the choke shortly after hitting the ground & is both concious & still complaining of a shortness of breath.

Obviously we're just speculating here, but to me a heart attack seems the more likely of possible explanations thus far.

Resonator75

RedemptionZ wrote: »

Well for anyone who has choked someone, for example in martial arts, they would know that the responsibility is on the choker to read the situation as they are the ones applying the force. These are professional police, not some bully from 4th class, they ought to know far better and adrenaline is not an excuse. I hope they get punished for this. Murder? probably not but there is a man dead that should still be alive. The investigation will make of that what they will.

Exactly. Spoken like someone who knows how to apply suitable force in required situation. It comes down to professionalism and discipline and not letting excitement or anger get the better of you. You can control someone or you can hurt and kill them. If you choose to do this for a living you should be aware of what you are doing, constantly, it is your duty.

Resonator75

Yamanoto wrote: »

He appears to be out of the choke shortly after hitting the ground & is both concious & still complaining of a shortness of breath.

Obviously we're just speculating here, but to me a heart attack seems the more likely of possible explanations thus far.

Damage already done? Sure, I stuck the knife in the guy and then he fell to the ground...

IronicNic

Resonator75 wrote: »

I asked, but did not call, please press the report button or reply to the substance of my post.

Well since you asked no I don't consider myself a fascist...thanks for asking hope you accept my response.

Resonator75

IronicNic wrote: »

Well since you asked no I don't consider myself a fascist...thanks for asking hope you accept my response.

OK. I just think you sound like a fascist.

IronicNic

Resonator75 wrote: »

OK. I just think you sound like a fascist.

Fair enuff ..I cant help what u think.

IronicNic

Resonator75 wrote: »

Exactly. Spoken like someone who knows how to apply suitable force in required situation. It comes down to professionalism and discipline and not letting excitement or anger get the better of you. You can control someone or you can hurt and kill them. If you choose to do this for a living you should be aware of what you are doing, constantly, it is your duty.

Yes but these are human police .not programmed automatons .. he brought it totally it on himself ..'ah you guys are always hassling me'..the guy was no angel ..this is the sort of misplaced rethoric that started riots in London and LA ..cops apparently picking on defenceless innocent men ..rodney King and Mark whatever his name in London throwing guns out of cabs where dancing on the wrong side of the thin blue line ..and if you do that you can't expect perfect professionalism from the police .

Canis Lupus

Pixelbastardo wrote: »

You are a piece of ****

So eloquent.

Overheal

creolebelle wrote: »

*sigh* I don't think the police in this situation realized they were hurting him. Sometimes people will pretend to be ill or injured to escape arrest

True, during an arrest some people will do or say a lot of crazy ****; bloody murder trying to either make a scene or gain some sort of sympathy. It makes it hard to differentiate between genuine and fake circumstances, and asthma is not really something you can be equipped to deal with in a takedown like that. Guy didn't give them too much choice, he wasn't wanting to calm down and when they tried to cuff him he threw his weight around like a wrecking ball.

sdanseo

The whole american system of justice and law enforcement should be used as a global example of how things should never be done.

Mind you, most Irish judges should still go on a jaunt to Texas and see how things are done there. A happy medium (where life meant life and not 14 years, but where you don't get every imaginable charge stacked against you with concurrent sentencing totaling hundreds of years) would be nice.

Badly Drunk Boy

creolebelle wrote: »

*sigh* I don't think the police in this situation realized they were hurting him. Sometimes people will pretend to be ill or injured to escape arrest

I think the man saying "I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I can't breathe" while on the ground in a chokehold, restrained by a few policemen, while having his head pushed against the footpath, warranted them to ease up on the chokehold, at the very least.

IronicNic wrote: »

Yes but these are human police .not programmed automatons .. he brought it totally it on himself ..'ah you guys are always hassling me'..the guy was no angel...

These are human police who are trained to deal with these sort of situations. And you could say the training is how humans are 'programmed'.

The man may have been no angel but selling cigarettes illegally shouldn't be a reason to die, especially since he had apparently been trying to break up a fight, not cause violence.

IronicNic

Pixelbastardo wrote: »

You are a piece of ****

Apt username is apt

Czarcasm

Resonator75 wrote: »

Since I watched The Wire, I got no faith in any city's system. Everyone protectes everyone else. I am half joking of course but you get my drift.

I think you've been watching too much TV.

Cops were full on here. no compromise on their parts. Much as I dislike An Garda carry on , ---no scratch that, it probably woudl happen here, just like NYPD.

Just this year alone -

http://www.thejournal.ie/leixlip-death-custody-1478064-May2014/

England has a proper police force. This would have been avoided by all means.

The deaths of Ian Tomlinson and Mark Duggan.


The man in this case died of a heart attack, not asphyxiation. You're only seeing what you want to see, and that's only being shown to you by someone else who recorded the video clip, wanting you to see what they wanted you to see... a bit like watching a cop program on TV and thinking it's reality.

EyeSight

sdeire wrote: »

The whole american system of justice and law enforcement should be used as a global example of how things should never be done.

I disagree. parts are terrible and other parts are great.
As a regular joe, i prefer the cops over here in the states. They're always polite whenever i speak to them, even at traffic stops. But if someone commits a crime they come down hard.
The courts come down hard on criminals and I like that. There's obvious deterrent and punishment. Sure the 3 strikes law can be harsh and the death penalty is a whole other kettle of fish.
The biggest problems are some law enforcement issues(obviously the media only ever focus on the bad stuff), social problems - why are people on their second strike still committing crimes? and of course rehabilitation for first time offenders

In ireland as a regular joe, I always got smart ass comments from guards, like they were trying to provoke me. I'm talking about times where i did nothing wrong and gave them no disrespect - i.e. Traffic checkpoints
The courts are a complete joke. How people with 100+ offences still get off with warnings and suspended sentences, i do not know
The criminals and scum in Ireland don't fear the guards or the courts. In fact they take advantage and commit crimes to earn their badge of honor and get no punishment.

How many times do they launch huge crackdowns on drug dealing or crime? especially in the OCS area. Yet every bank holiday they seem to have enough resources to clamp down on car tax/insurance and drink drivers? One crime affects honest citizens, the other generates money and better stats for our EU friends to publish

On topic, it shouldn't have happened but i can see why it happened. From arrests i've seen on the street(or even on cops ) almost everyone resisting claims they're being hurt when 99% of the time they're lying. Not saying it should have happened, but i can see how it did occur

cabbageandtay

Seedy Arling wrote: »

An asthmatic selling smokes? Hmm...

Imagine.

A vegan selling eggs
A Hindu selling beef
A Jew selling shellfish
A blackwoman selling sheets

Imagine

hmm

Canis Lupus

cabbageandtay wrote: »

Imagine.

A vegan selling eggs
A Hindu selling beef
A Jew selling shellfish
A blackwoman selling sheets

Imagine

hmm

A black woman selling sheets?