Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Eric Garner - no probable cause?

We depend on the police - in "high crime areas" and "low crime areas".  We know that there are places and times when the risk of being robbed on the street is low and where it is high.  We need police to be effective - and to identify the highest risks - not by hunch or prejudice - nor by  half-baked theories like broken windows.  A man who should have gotten a ticket for selling cigarettes without a license was treated like a criminal and soon lay dead.
A man engaging in minor misconduct was attacked while surrounded by a group of policemen and we all were shocked by the video of the `takedown'.  So why no indictment of Eric Garner?  Some kind of misplaced trust in the police, tribal refusal to hold them accountable, or just self-delusion by the citizens of the borough that re-elected a real thug and the county prosecutors who can't bring themselves to charge with any crime a policeman who recklessly used great force.  These protesters at Grand Central and around town are doing us the service of not allowing such events to be swept under the rug. - gwc
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