Nice try, critics on my wall assuming that anyone who opposes the rush to judgment against Officer Wilson would support every and any case of alleged police wrongdoing. Not so fast. And not true. Each case should be looked at on its own merits. As to this Eric Garner case in New York, its very different from Ferguson. The troubling aspect to me in the Garner case is that the officer in question allegedly used a chokehold maneuver that had been banned by his own department since 1993. It seems likely, though, that the grand jury believed he didnt INTEND to kill Garner, making it more complicated as to the legalities. And, again, were not the grand jury. We didnt see all the evidence, which was presented over MONTHS time. We didnt hear people under oath. But, still, that detail makes this a more troubling case to me. What should happen when officers dont intend to kill someone but violate training and cause a death? How far should the system go in punishing that? The officer in this case argued he didnt administer a chokehold but rather a maneuver taught in the police academy. Again, we arent the grand jury so we didnt get to weigh ALL of the evidence presented on that side versus the other. And, again, no ones alleging that Wilson acted contrary to his training, so its apples to oranges. I find this case more troubling, though, for that reason. nytimes/2014/12/04/nyregion/grand-jury-said-to-bring-no-charges-in-staten-island-chokehold-death-of-eric-garner.html?_r=0
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 03:45:46 +0000