No. He died from choking. The NYC coroner's office ruled it a homicide resulting from the chokehold and compression of the chest and it's illegal for NYC police officers to apply the chokehold in the first place. So what's happened? A guy illegally selling a cigarette is killed by a cop who broke the law and we're blaming the victim.
He was violating a minor law. There's two ways to deal with such violations. Under Giuliani, fare beaters, squeege men and graffiti 'artists' were prosecuted. It did bring down crime. The City did become safer. But it also filled the jails, destroyed families and cost taxpayers a fortune.
The question is whether that same cop would have been as aggressive if the violator had been white. I think not. There has been a pattern of cop shootings against black people for a while now in this country. There are certainly crazy white people who behave just as aggressively, but they rarely get shot. I think in this particular case, the white officer resented the black man not accepting his authority. He would have resented it less had the violator been white. And in the case in St. Louis, I think the officer was simply scared and panicked. But being more scared of black people than of white people is a form of racism. Now the guy in St. Louis probably was guilty of criminal activity. But that doesn't mean he deserved to be shot. In NYC recently, officers entered a darkened staircase in a public housing project. A couple entered on the floor below because they were tired of waiting for the elevator. The officer panicked and shot in the darkness and an unarmed man was killed, possibly from a ricochet. Again, would that have happened in a mostly white housing project? I don't think so.
I think police officers have to use rational judgements when it comes to minor crimes. Do we really want members of the public shot or physically assaulted for selling a cigarette on the street? It's like going after marijuana smokers instead of going after big-time drug dealers.
I was involved in many civil-rights and anti-war demonstrations in the 1960s and 70s. The point of such demonstrations, especially when they involve sit-ins and the like is to say that life cannot go on as usual when these bad things are happening to us. We all know that large corporations have a lot of power with both local and national governments. The idea is to get them to force change. That's exactly what happened during the 1960s and 70s. Do you know one of the main factors in ending apartheid in South Africa? It was because pressure on local governments, unions and banks forced them to stop investing pension funds in South Africa. The South African economy was close to collapse and that's when FW deClerk let Mandela out of jail. It's similar to the economic sanctions the U.N. has placed on Iran in order to get them to abandon their nuclear program.
The demonstration at Apple was not blaming Apple for what happened. It's saying that Apple and other corporations have to get on board to help force change. Apple is already doing that in regard to advances in protecting the environment and in supporting gay rights. Although I thought we were over this decades ago, they need to also take a stand regarding how the police deal with minorities.
Personally, the "stop and frisk" program aside, I think that NYC cops do a pretty good job. Statistically, they very rarely draw their guns and violent crime is the lowest it's been in 40 years. Almost all murders in NYC are between people who know each other. But there are cops who don't belong on the force and the "stop and frisk" program ruined relations between the police and minority communities. The police never would have pulled that crap on the upper East Side, even though almost every private high school kid is walking around with drugs on them. But their rich and connected parents would go nuts if the police started harassing or arresting them. This is why it was a racist program and only 1% of the stops ever resulted in an arrest. Under the new mayor, the program has been heavily dialed back and you know what? Crime has not risen.
<span style="line-height:1.4em;">I'm shocked at the number of people who want to rationalize that these aggressive police tactics are "okay". </span>
That police officer was violating POLICY, not the law. Big difference.
That police officer was violating POLICY, not the law. Big difference.
Fine, he was violating a policy against choking, but not a law against choking. Now tell me how that makes murdering someone by choking a legal action?
Fine, he was violating a policy against choking, but not a law against choking. Now tell me how that makes murdering someone by choking a legal action?
Policy is different from law and that's a fundamental difference.
Fine, he was violating a policy against choking, but not a law against choking. Now tell me how that makes murdering someone by choking a legal action?
To be fair the choke hold alone did not kill him. It didn't help that other officers got on top of the suspect once on the ground, and they also didn't help him while he lay there dying.
(Sees people calling the protesters against white-on-black police injustice "thugs looking for handouts") Well then! I guess racists can be found everywhere, even among people who buy from and support a relatively liberal company like Apple.
To be fair the choke hold alone did not kill him. It didn't help that other officers got on top of the suspect once on the ground, and they also didn't help him while he lay there dying.
Then all the officers involves should be held accountable for his murder, just as if I got arrested for aiding and abeding just because a friend of friend stole something at a mall and we get pulled over by the police before he decided to tell me this. Funny how cops can't do anything wrong unless it's against a while person.
Then all the officers involves should be held accountable for his murder, just as if I got arrested for aiding and abeding just because a friend of friend stole something at a mall and we get pulled over by the police before he decided to tell me this. Funny how cops can't do anything wrong unless it's against a while person.
They all should have been charged, but that's not my decision. Had it been a group of citizens they all would've been charged. These cases should be handled by prosecutors that don't work intimately with the officers day in, and day out.
I feel like the art of police work has gotten lost over the years. Like any job it's become results driven, and with crime going down it's become harder to get those results without arrests of petty criminals.
(Sees people calling the protesters against white-on-black police injustice "thugs looking for handouts")
Well then! I guess racists can be found everywhere, even among people who buy from and support a relatively liberal company like Apple.
That police officer was violating POLICY, not the law. Big difference.
You're correct that it's not a state law, but it was violating official regulations, not policy. It seems to me that if you violate regulations and someone dies because of it, that's criminally negligent homicide.
Really sick of these idiots! The two that were killed were breaking the law and that is the risk when you so those kinds of things!!!! These idiots should be arrested immediately and a Heavy fine imposed to maybe give them a reality check!!!
Yes, let's shoot them first and fine them after. Let's dispense with the courts and shoot them in the street.
(Sees people calling the protesters against white-on-black police injustice "thugs looking for handouts")
Well then! I guess racists can be found everywhere, even among people who buy from and support a relatively liberal company like Apple.
Absolutely. Any reading of these forums will demonstrate that there are people of all stripes on here: Socialists, Liberals, Middle of the Roaders, Conservatives, Tea Partiers, Facists, Progressives, etc.
The line that Apple users were creative liberal types and PC users were conservatives and business types was always a myth.
And frankly, in spite of its current support for gay rights and its embracement of celebs in marketing who might be considered liberal, I don't really see Apple as a liberal company, especially under Jobs.
It finds the cheapest labor and seeks the highest profits just like every other company that you might consider conservative.
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They've been trying to ban those for quite some time now. I remember when horses were dying left and right at one point.
It’s all that Beefarino. What a delicious cuisine-o! Fit for king and queen-o!
That police officer was violating POLICY, not the law. Big difference.
And the SMELL..!
I would've not remembered that reference had I not seen that episode just last week.
Fine, he was violating a policy against choking, but not a law against choking. Now tell me how that makes murdering someone by choking a legal action?
Policy is different from law and that's a fundamental difference.
To be fair the choke hold alone did not kill him. It didn't help that other officers got on top of the suspect once on the ground, and they also didn't help him while he lay there dying.
Well then! I guess racists can be found everywhere, even among people who buy from and support a relatively liberal company like Apple.
Then all the officers involves should be held accountable for his murder, just as if I got arrested for aiding and abeding just because a friend of friend stole something at a mall and we get pulled over by the police before he decided to tell me this. Funny how cops can't do anything wrong unless it's against a while person.
They all should have been charged, but that's not my decision. Had it been a group of citizens they all would've been charged. These cases should be handled by prosecutors that don't work intimately with the officers day in, and day out.
I feel like the art of police work has gotten lost over the years. Like any job it's become results driven, and with crime going down it's become harder to get those results without arrests of petty criminals.
Yeah, you’d be surprised how many people don’t know what racism even is!
I myself prefer rally racing.
You're being too hard on yourself.
I recall watching a racy movie last night, but that's obviously par for the course for racists such as myself.
I'm so racist, that I don't even own an iPad stand. I just hire minorities to stand and hold my iPads for me.
You're correct that it's not a state law, but it was violating official regulations, not policy. It seems to me that if you violate regulations and someone dies because of it, that's criminally negligent homicide.
Yes, let's shoot them first and fine them after. Let's dispense with the courts and shoot them in the street.
Yep, he said not a word even remotely close to that.
Absolutely. Any reading of these forums will demonstrate that there are people of all stripes on here: Socialists, Liberals, Middle of the Roaders, Conservatives, Tea Partiers, Facists, Progressives, etc.
The line that Apple users were creative liberal types and PC users were conservatives and business types was always a myth.
And frankly, in spite of its current support for gay rights and its embracement of celebs in marketing who might be considered liberal, I don't really see Apple as a liberal company, especially under Jobs.
It finds the cheapest labor and seeks the highest profits just like every other company that you might consider conservative.
Is his name Pico?