No indictment in Eric Garner Death

<p>This is unbelievable. I’m stunned. Does anyone have an idea why a grand jury wouldn’t find probably cause?</p>

<p>These days I’m beyond stunned. But I am sure there are many people here happy to tell you why it was okay.</p>

<p>I am furious and unsurprised.</p>

<p>Sickening.</p>

<p>I’ll just C&P what I wrote in the Ferguson thread:</p>

<p>Cops don’t get indicted. Doesn’t matter what the evidence is. They apparently have free reign to kill anyone they want for any reason. </p>

<p>I too am furious, downhearted, and upset (and furious… can I say that again??)</p>

<p>I guess it’s only a matter of time before the same thing happens in the cases of John Crawford and Tamir Rice. Just feeling fatalistic. </p>

<p>Having watched the video, I am stunned. I really can’t believe it. </p>

<p>I’m not at all surprised, I’m sad to say. Reminds me of an event 20 years ago in my area - Jonny Gammage. In that case the coroners jury recommended homicide charges against the officers but they all got off with nothing.</p>

<p>“Welcome to the machine.”</p>

<p>I am too numb to be furious. I know that it’s extremely rare for a police officer to be indicted, but in this case there was a graphic video, and the whole world is watching, </p>

<p>I’m waiting to hear what de Blasio has to say.</p>

<p>Maybe the lesson here is that we can’t rely on grand jury investigations in cases involving the police. Prosecutors have no trouble presenting enough evidence to find probable cause in other cases (as they say, they can get an indictment of a ham sandwich if they want). But yet they utterly unable to convince grand juries to indict officers captured on film choking people to death. How can this be?</p>

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<p>I can’t sum it up any better than this. </p>

<p>What does a mother say to her black or brown son? </p>

<p>The only surprise here is that some people are surprised that the cop in the Garner case wasn’t indicted. Cops are NEVER indicted for killing people. Cops can kill black or brown people with impunity. They can kill white people with impunity too, but they don’t do that as often.</p>

<p>There needs to be special prosecutors conducting these investigations. Someone not beholden to the police departments - unlike DA’s who need them to make their other cases. </p>

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<p>It takes a giant leap in imagination to draw a parallel between the Brown and Garner cases. One is based on clear video of the incident. The other one had a video many wanted to pretend did not exist and a narrative weaved in lies and misrepresentations. </p>

<p>Of course, that will not stop anyone to continue to push fallacies and half-truths. </p>

<p>xiggi . . . do you believe that police officers ever give false testimony?</p>

<p>“It takes a giant leap in imagination to draw a parallel between the Brown and Garner cases.”</p>

<p>I C&P’d what I said in reaction to newest non indictment. </p>

<p>But not surprisingly, I also disagree with your opinion about the two cases. </p>

<p>What should be surprising is that you know what my opinion on the second case … might be! But I will take your word that you’ll disagree with it as a matter of routine. </p>

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<p>No, quite the contrary. The parallel is that prosecutors don’t want to indict cops, even when the evidence is overwhelming that they should.</p>

<p>I know your opinion on the first case - you made that perfectly clear - and I can guess your opinion on the second case since you think the two cases couldn’t be any more different. My disagreement with you is that the two case couldn’t be any more different. They are not, imo. </p>