I was planning on taking a break from blogging for a couple of weeks, but things happen on which I want to comment. Lately those things have been mostly of a domestic nature, which was not the original intent of this humble blog. But, that's the way it is.
My thoughts on the Ferguson case are quite clear. I think Michael Brown was a giant thug--who happened to be black--who had robbed a convenience store, assaulted the Asian owner of that store, and then went on to assault a cop--who happened to be white--and try to take his gun. Brown paid for his arrogant and brutal stupidity with his life. The grand jury acted correctly in refusing to indict police officer Wilson despite the enormous pressure brought to bear by extrajudicial actors such as the Democrat-led lynch mob in the streets, the ever-more disgraceful Attorney General, our completely hopeless President, and the echo-chamber mass media. The system worked.
I now turn to the Eric Garner case in New York. I am not sure that the system worked in that case. According to the press--and that's all the info I have--we have a man by the name of Eric Garner, who happened to be black, killed in the process of being arrested by a gaggle of NYPD reenacting Swift's Lilliputians tying down Gulliver.
You can see in the video that Garner, a very large man, is being wrestled to the sidewalk by several much smaller cops, one of whom has a hold on his neck. I don't know if it was technically a "chokehold," but it did consist of the cop's arm across Garner's neck. He falls and you can hear him gasp, "I can't breathe!" Apparently his last words or close to them. It is also not clear that Garner was resisting arrest. I acknowledge that different people can look at the video and reach different conclusions; I, however, am not convinced that he was resisting. To me, he looked confused and uncertain as to what the cops wanted him to do.
What bothers me a great deal is that Garner had not robbed or assaulted anybody, much less an armed cop. He was neither Michael Brown nor that other thug, Trayvon Martin. His crime? Selling loose cigarettes to passers-by, thereby, depriving the city of a few cents of tax revenue. He died for selling loose cigarettes; he died for not paying a few cents in taxes to the Progressive New York City Leviathan cum Tony Soprano.
Garner was a victim of progressivism's lethality, and shared that fate with millions of other persons around the world. That NYC, my old home town, can afford to send at least eight or nine vastly overpaid and over-equipped cops to bust and kill a guy for selling cigarettes tells us all we need to know about the state of progressive governance in our horribly misled, once great, and former Republic.
Consider also the case of Miriam Carey, gunned down for the high crime of making a wrong turn and driving erratically near the White House and Capitol. Crickets on that too, and nothing more than an internal investigation.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that the State , the progressive hell hole that is now New York, would find it perfectly fine to end someone over cigarettes . He may have resisted, I don't know, but the NYPD appeared to prove itself less than helpful when Garner was in extremis .
ReplyDeleteTheir markmanship, fortunately , was not a factor.
What I saw was a big guy desperately trying to stick his hands up in the air to surrender. I suspect had they told him to turn and put his hands behind his back to be cuffed, he would've complied.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, I am not a smoker.
Well I saw the Garner incident similar to the rest of you.
ReplyDeleteThere was a whole bunch of cops there, so you can't tell me they had no other way to overpower this guy, whatever his offense might have been.
The choke hold, reminiscent of Gorgeous George and the Sleeper Hold, should be outlawed for police. The results are too unpredictable. Police have other tools to deal with these people, such as the Taser. Admittedly complications from it are possible, but it is more predictable and it works well.
I suspect it was this guy's mouthing off that got the cops in a big wedgie, rather than his illegal cigarette sales business.
I haven't decided. And it would be useful if this grand jury publishes the transcripts and all the evidence. That said, no way to I see this as racist. Color of the participants was incidental. All of this will end badly for the country, for law enforcement and for law abiding citizens.
ReplyDeleteCriminals, thugs, race hustlers and race baiters and illegals winning. Front row seats to the hatching of a Banana Republic.
pmc
I live in New York. Never start mouthing off at a cop. Particularly when you have a record and are doing somethin illegal.Incidentally that is a new and stupid law about selling singles.Over reaction from police definitely but he had heart problems as well. And Staten Island is the last bastion of conservative politics in New York so the verdict was not unexpected.
DeleteI agree and am not a fan of tax collection by force.
ReplyDeleteAll tax collection depends upon a credible threat of force.
DeleteMuch like the Kelly Thomas case (innocent homeless mentally ill man beaten to death by Fullerton PD)...
ReplyDeleteThe more interesting distinction, to me anyway, is the obvious "collective" decision of the many eyewitnesses to the Michael Brown/police encounter to withhold their cell phone videos, which due to the instantaneous videotaping of police/black suspect situations by bystanders, makes it inconceivable that these videos don't exist. Yet, either individuals or peer pressure from black leaders, who descended on Ferguson, suppressed those videos, just like Michael Brown was recast as a "gentle giant" and his loving Mom and her partner, have been presented as poor grieving parents rather than opportunists/thugs. And in the case of gangbanger/convicted felon, Louis Head, wow, that image makeover sure took a degree of willful blindness by mainstream media that leaves me stunned.
ReplyDeleteThe NYC case shows the police in a bad light and promotes the black grievance industry's political agenda - video is broadcast far and wide, funny how that works....
Not sure what a guy arrested *over 30 times* is doing on the street.
ReplyDeleteI mean.. yeah.. maybe a couple of those were bogus... *30*?
Perhaps progressivism let this guy down first by not keeping him in jail.
- reader #1482
There is a history of frequent arrests and fines levied on the poor and blacks by small cities (obviously not New York) in St Louis County. This may have been a factor in the eruption against police there who are stuck with enforcing laws and local ordinances in some of these small cities.
DeleteThe cigarette tax sounds similar and the 30 priors may have included a lot of these small-bore harassing statutes. I suppose we will eventually find out.
real stats please, not socialist talking points.
DeleteDavod
As a distant observer from across the seas; I am often amazed by the militarisation of Police in the US and by their wild over-reactions to the most innocuous events, often resulting in lethal outcomes. And I don't include Brown in that assessment; he was behaving in a way that that was very likely to result in the justifiable use of lethal force. But this poor man Garner clearly wasn't a threat to the safety of the Police, or anyone else, at the time of the incident that lead to his death, and it is just extraordinary, at the least to me, that it would require that number of Police to subdue him let alone for that reason. Clearly enough I don't have all of the facts, but there is sufficient reason for the behaviour of the Police to be examined, and charges should be brought if they are are justified. Police behaviour needs to be kept within acceptable bounds, and the public interest is not served by permitting Police to behave in that manner.
ReplyDelete"Clearly enough I don't have all of the facts"
DeleteNever let not having all the facts get in the way of your condemnation of the police
Never let what I have actually written get in the way of a good smear.
DeleteWhich part of "Clearly enough I don't have all of the facts, but there is sufficient reason for the behaviour of the Police to be examined, and charges should be brought if they are are justified." are you unable to understand?
I haven't condemned the Police; I have said there was reason to look at what they did and that charges should be brought 'if they are justified'.
I agree,and think that this is a case of police going too far. He may have been resisting arrest but it should not have resulted in his death. I do think that we could do with less of the police using military hardware to deal with the civilian population. As it gives them a bully attitude, it turns the civilian into the "enemy" for which the military hardware is designed for.
ReplyDeleteHayek predicted this in his book, "Road to Serfdom". Now that the state has an interest in every economic activity, it is imperative that the state "manage" its exposure to the threat inherent in individual liberty. Mr. Garner was poaching tax revenue by selling illegal cigarettes, so the state had to deal with him.
ReplyDeleteIf the cops have nothing better to do than arrest someone selling cigarettes "illegally" then I suggest we have too many cops.
ReplyDelete-Blake
the triviality of the "crime" emphasizes the lethality of response. that said, it appears that the arm around Garner's neck was technically not a chokehold. There has also been some discussion about whether the cause of death might have been a heart attack. Regardless, it is concerning that police will use potentially dangerous-to-lethal force in situations that are relatively minor and not life threatening to others. Kind of like using a taser indiscriminately when there is clear evidence that it can be lethal to some people.
ReplyDeleteThis killing was the natural result of the governing classes' war on Tobacco, which was always and intentionally a war on liberty itself.
ReplyDeleteTobacco is harmful while marijuana is good for you. Just ask the administration.
DeleteMichael "Swisher Sweets" Brown's was, too, wasn't it? We just HAVE TO outlaw tobacco, before another one dies.
DeleteThere was at least some speculation that Brown stole the cigarillos to make blunts. So a twofer, tobaccy and wacky tabaccy for the win.
DeleteI was told by someone who I think is in a position to have such information, that one of the factors presented to the Grand Jury was that in at least three of those 31 previous arrests, Eric Garner resisted arrest and in fact, assaulted one police officer in the process, for which he was not charged. If true, this may well explain why there were so many police on hand to arrest Mr. Garner. It may also explain why there wasn't much in the way of negotiating a peaceful take down. Perhaps the police were aware of what Mr. Garner was about to do, or at least, capable of doing. Regardless, there had to be more facts than we are aware that was presented to the members of that GJ.
ReplyDeleteMy concern is not so much the GJ and its decision. My concern is the whole set-up that led to this abomination. Apparently Garner had been arrested before for selling cigarettes and the cops were fed up with him. The whole point is that this is an absurd law, that cops should not be wasting time enforcing it, and that they need to learn ways to keep situations under control without getting violent. I hold the progressive state responsible for the criminalization of so much trivial stuff. When I lived in NY I saw cops busting people for selling fish at the fish market without a city permit. It's a racket.
Delete"It's a racket."
DeleteNo kidding.
James the Lesser
New York City is one large racket.
DeleteTammany Hall pol Sullivan inflicted the infamous 1911 Sullivan Gun Act on the whole state. It required one to get state permission to own a firearm.
Sullivan ran a racket which preyed on ships in NY harbor. Sullivan's buccaneers would raid the ships and steal their cargo. When ship captains ordered crews to carry arms to defend lives and property, Sullivan's thugs were inconvenienced. To make things safe and convenient for his looting parties, he passed his idiot, commie gun law by which only the cops, the famous and rich, and mobsters could own guns.
Shortly thereafter, Sullivan croaked from Tertiary Syphilis in a 'lunatic asylum'.
We can thank bubba bullshale and his sanctimonious jackass protracted tobacco lawsuits for this idiocy. I don't smoke, no interests affected here. But the entire tobacco suit scam was just another tax hike by a different name.
Albanian mobsters and RJR Nabisco execs close to bubba's heart did profit nicely from the instant black market bub's created for them.
Garner was just a bit player in the cigarette black market.
Unfortunately, he was a scofflaw and police must arrest people who break laws lest we devolve to lawlessness.
At one point, not on the selectively shot public video, Garner had sandwiched Officer Pantaleo between himself and a plate glass storefront window which the patrolman feared would break beneath Garners three hundred fifty pound bulk. Pantaleo must have felt as if he couldn't breathe at that point.
Pantaleo also told Garner, 'you've done this before (get arrested) let's make this easy'.
Garner decided to make it hard and paid the price.
I have no use for bad cops, but Garner was breaking the law, however trivial and cops had no choice but to arrest.
On a different thread, discussing the killing of the 12-year-old boy in Cleveland who was brandishing a toy gun, a commenter pointed out that in Afghanistan and Iraq, the ROI have been not to fire unless fired upon. It seems strange that a lower standard should apply in police work here at home.
ReplyDeleteIt applies to civilians as well. If a "reasonable man" perceives a threat of lethal force, lethal force in return is a legal option.
DeleteAccording to the Official Story, as filtered through the media (i.e. big warning), the "toy gun" was an airsoft pistol with the required orange ring at the muzzle removed. And that when the police showed up and ordered him to do whatever (I forget), his response was to remove it from where he was carrying it at his waist, i.e. "unholster" it and put it in his hand.
E.g. they showed up, ordered him to freeze or put his hands up, and his response was, as far as they could tell, to get his gun in his hands. Which signals everything required of a lethal threat, means, opportunity and intent. That scenario could also explain the very fast transition from showing up to shooting him that I've heard about the video of the event (in which due to the angle from which it was taken the police are masking the child, so we don't know what he actually did).
IF all that is true, shooting him was a legitimate response. That the Afghanistan and Iraq ROE are much stricter would pertain to the idea we're trying to win their "hearts and minds", and that it can be demanded that soldiers, wearing much more serious body armor (e.g. hard rifle plates in addition to soft body armor), better and more numerous weapons (rifles), have to take a greater risk in a trade off for that goal.
While I mourn the end of "peace officers", who indeed might have been more willing to take a risk in this case (then again children that young are a lot more murderous nowadays), again, IF the Official Story is true, that is not a standard I want to hold modern "law enforcement" officers to.
The ROE in Afghanistan are widely believed by troops (not generals) to be far too restrictive. For example, in Dakota Meyers' book "Into the Fire," he describes being punished for shooting at Taliban who were firing mortar rounds into the encampment. He was punished because they were not wearing "uniforms."
DeleteThe no fire policy in Afghanistan is a ridiculous one and it would be so here, too. If our military in the Middle East were not hand tied, our body count would be far less staggering.
ReplyDeleteTo the progressive government mind, Eric Garner committed a very terrible crime. He was stealing from the government (not paying taxes) while outside the system. I would think the DA in his case would have shaded things to let the cops off. The evidence presented to the grand jury will likely stay secret unlike the Ferguson case.
ReplyDeleteNote the lack of interest in stealing while inside the system for things like using EBT cards or food stamps for booze or electronics.
In manner of the allegorical Captain Dudley Smith in L.A. Confidential, government has taken over the rackets. Exactly as you say, Garner was stealing from the government.
DeleteThe Clintons jacked tobacco prices in order to benefit their cronies, the blather about health costs was just air cover. Leftists are avid fans of Cecil Rhodes 'recovering the wealth of nations': serfs have it too good, before long they won't see the need for we nobles, so we must take back their newfound wealth so that we may continue to lord it over them....
As far as EBT frauds, those can be charged off as 'investments' in buying the loyalty of useful idiots.
I'm on laptop "elf-keyboard" so comment brief limiting, I worry this might be obscure.
ReplyDeleteI note numerous mentions of "racket/s". I can only speak to Arkansas ... I note above Dip's observing "selling fish in a fish market w/out a license ..."
Here in Arkansas it takes 25 hours classroom to get "certified" for EMS - 250 hours to be a licensed/certfied manicurist//cosmetologist.
15 hours to get a badge unless one's Uncle happens to be an elected County-level elected official, or at a local level, a Mayor's kin/friend can be a "city/municiple" cop - but then when "hot pursuit" kicks in, functually any podunk cop becomes a statetrooper.
Far as Mr Garner is concerned - admitting my ignorance of the specifics - I'll echo this:
http://malcolmpollack.com/2014/12/04/and-so-it-goes-3/
Arkie
I am 67 years old, female and White. Grew up in a small town much like Mayberry. Still I was taught "never mouth off to a cop." This good advice has served me well over the years. "Yes, sir. No, sir. I'm sorry sir" has gotten me out of many a speeding ticket. I lived in NYC right out of college. I have great respect for the NYPD. Did the guy deserve to die? No. But was it criminal? I'm not so sure. Was it racial? I see no reason to think so. NYV is likely the most diverse City in the world.
ReplyDeleteAs is always the case, the Left needs victims. Preferably dead ones. Truth most often will defeat them, so they are left with justice-as they want it, or peace as they threaten. No justice no peace is an empty slogan that serves as their "truth".
ReplyDeleteI have to swim upstream on this one, I'm afraid. This isn't about the crime of selling untaxed cigarettes without a license (though I would also argue about the seriousness of that), This is about resisting lawful arrest.
ReplyDeleteI doubt Garner was going to jail, and I bet Garner doubted it too. What was going to happen is the cops were going to cuff him (routine police procedure for everyone's safety) and confiscate his capitol investment in his bootleg scam. When he resisted (and I have no doubt he did resist) what were the cops supposed to do? Tip their hats and go to the donut shop until a crime worthy of their time happens? Yeah, that attitude will make for a safe community. </sarcasm
It's like this; motorist is pulled over for doing 70 mph in a 55 zone. Motorist zooms away when cop approaches car. Cop pursues, motorist crashes car and dies.
The death has nothing to do with the posted speed limit.
Say, is it just me, or does anyone else find it not a coincidence, that when the news, belatedly, came out that a black, female, NYPD sergeant was actually on the scene supervising the officers arresting Garner, just never shown in the youtube clips,
ReplyDeletethat suddenly, the civil rights investigation by DOJ went away, and the protests shifted to something else?
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/12/breaking-eric-garner-arrest-death-supervised-by-black-female-police-sergeant/
Delete