“When does your decency kick in?” Police overreach and the Eric Garner difference

[alsame]

“When does your decency kick in?” Police overreach and the Eric Garner difference
Another funeral for another unarmed black man taken down by NYPD. But here's how videotape may set this case apart

Eric Garner wasn’t the only person people were talking about on Wednesday outside Bethel Baptist Church in Brooklyn, N.Y., where Garner’s funeral took place. Sean Bell, Amadou Diallo, Anthony Baez — the names came up quickly, other men killed in altercations with police, a list where Garner’s name has now been added.

“This case is what’s come behind it,” Tahir Rahman, of Brooklyn, said late Wednesday afternoon, before the funeral service began. Rahman, who said he didn’t know Garner personally, was one of several men who came to Wednesday’s service wearing the bright orange t-shirts of a community group called The Peace Keepers. “I just pray it never happens, but we know it will happen again.”

Hundreds of family, friends, clergy, elected officials, and community members turned out for the service, the latest in a series of events held in memory of Garner, the 43-year-old Staten Island man who died last Thursday after being put in a chokehold by an officer trying to arrest him for selling illegal cigarettes. A video of the incident, in which Garner can be heard repeatedly crying out that he couldn’t breathe, has inspired widespread outrage over his death, and prompted a criminal investigation.

On Wednesday, the cops were out for Garner’s funeral, too. Uniformed members of the New York Police Department arrived early in the day and were stationed on the street outside Bethel Baptist, but there did not appear to be much interaction between police and the attendees.

More:
http://www.salon.com/2014/07/24/when_does_your_decency_kick_in_police_overreach_and_the_eric_garner_difference/

[QuestForSense]

1. We'll see what happens next, but don't hold your breath waiting for things to change.

"You think that's the worst of it? Wait, there's more: The paramedics arrived on the scene and for some reason something prevented them from seeing a dying man who needed help. The dying man for whom they were called. No one offered CPR, no one offered help. According to medical experts, Mr. Garner would not be in a coffin waiting to be committed to his grave if someone had just helped him. Just a little help.

A noted pathologist, Dr. Cyril Wecht, told The New York Daily News that Garner could have lived had he received appropriate medical care at the scene or had anyone simply lifted him off the sidewalk and placed him in a sitting position.

"He paid the ultimate price for selling untaxed cigarettes. What a truly fucked up world."

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/07/23/1316066/-Mr-Garner-will-be-buried-today-thanks-to-the-NYPD