Apparently every red-blooded, reasonably-sensed American is blind, simple, stupid, and slow. That has to be why the Grand Jury in New York decided there was no cause to bring charges against the officer that choked out Eric Garner. We all saw the replay, he heard the pleas, but we were all mistaken in what we saw and heard.
This isn’t like Mike Brown where there’s no footage to either corroborate or debunk one version of events or another. There was no “lost” or “tainted” evidence that could marginalized or disqualified. The official autopsy from the city coroner ruled Eric Garner was murdered. We all saw the murderer – on high quality video! Before the video was released, NYPD lied through its collective teeth about what happened that day.
Once the video surfaced, the back peddling, posturing, and manipulation began. No, we didn’t see what we knew we saw. Then it was, we don’t know the circumstances. Now we find the officer used a choke maneuver that’s been outlawed for years, but we didn’t witness a murder.
This reminded me of that MNF game – Seahawks and Packers (aka the Fail Mary Game). We all saw the pass was intercepted! We saw it from multiple angles. The officials huddled, went under the hood and still blew it! Lied to all of America with a straight face.
That’s how I felt when the results of the Grand Jury became public – like my intelligence had been insulted. The difference being a husband and father was taken from his family – and for what? Loose cigarettes? The man had just done a good deed in breaking up a fight and was cooperating with authorities. His commendation for being a peacekeeper? A premature death sentence.
When will the police brutality stop? Law enforcement needs to take a hard look at itself. This isn’t to say that all law enforcers are the scum of the earth, but Edmund Burke said it best: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that the good men do nothing.” It’s necessary for neighborhoods, communities, and law enforcement to partner to rebuild the trust that has been repeatedly violated. The good officers need to corral the renegades and promote the safety of our neighborhoods. This isn’t going to be accomplished by the President. He’s having a hard enough doing the job he’s been twice-elected to do. It’s not going to come from other politicians, because they’re only interested in votes and paychecks.
There’s a lot to be said when people of the neighborhood trust the local criminals more than the cops. We’re at square one. Time to get to work.
-MB
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