MOSTLY peaceful protests flared for a second night on Thursday over a New York grand jury’s decision not to bring criminal charges against a white police officer in the choking death of an unarmed black man.
The reaction in New York and other cities to Wednesday’s decision not to indict officer Daniel Pantaleo for his role in the videotaped confrontation that left 43-year-old Eric Garner dead echoed a wave of outrage sparked nine days earlier by a similar outcome in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white policeman in Missouri.
US Attorney-General Eric Holder on Thursday promised a full investigation of the New York case.
Pantaleo could still face disciplinary action from an internal police investigation‚ his lawyer said‚ adding that he expected that process to move quickly and that his client would be exonerated.
A departmental investigation is likely to focus on whether Pantaleo employed a chokehold‚ banned by New York Police Department regulations‚ in restraining Garner as he and other officers sought to arrest him for allegedly selling cigarettes illegally on a Staten Island pavement in July.
In addition to triggering protests around the country‚ the New York and Missouri cases have reignited debate over a US law enforcement system widely perceived to unfairly target African-Americans and other minorities.
Unlike the August 9 fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a policeman under disputed circumstances in the St Louis suburb of Ferguson‚ Missouri‚ Garner’s encounter with New York City police was captured on video that went viral online.
The clip from a bystander’s mobile phone shows Pantaleo grabbing Garner from behind with his arm around Garner’s throat before he was wrestled to the pavement by Pantaleo and three other officers.
The city’s medical examiner has said police officers killed Garner by compressing his neck and chest‚ adding that Garner’s asthma and obesity had contributed to his death.
Although chokeholds were barred by New York City police regulations‚ the 2000-page patrol guide was vague about whether such moves were permitted under certain circumstances‚ said Maria Haberfeld‚ who heads the law and criminal justice department at John Jay College.
That gray area‚ she said‚ could have influenced the grand jury and could be a factor in the departmental probe. — Reuters
US protests flare again
The reaction in New York and other cities to Wednesday’s decision not to indict officer Daniel Pantaleo for his role in the videotaped confrontation that left 43-year-old Eric Garner dead echoed a wave of outrage sparked nine days earlier by a similar outcome in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white policeman in Missouri.
US Attorney-General Eric Holder on Thursday promised a full investigation of the New York case.
Pantaleo could still face disciplinary action from an internal police investigation‚ his lawyer said‚ adding that he expected that process to move quickly and that his client would be exonerated.
A departmental investigation is likely to focus on whether Pantaleo employed a chokehold‚ banned by New York Police Department regulations‚ in restraining Garner as he and other officers sought to arrest him for allegedly selling cigarettes illegally on a Staten Island pavement in July.
In addition to triggering protests around the country‚ the New York and Missouri cases have reignited debate over a US law enforcement system widely perceived to unfairly target African-Americans and other minorities.
Unlike the August 9 fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a policeman under disputed circumstances in the St Louis suburb of Ferguson‚ Missouri‚ Garner’s encounter with New York City police was captured on video that went viral online.
The clip from a bystander’s mobile phone shows Pantaleo grabbing Garner from behind with his arm around Garner’s throat before he was wrestled to the pavement by Pantaleo and three other officers.
The city’s medical examiner has said police officers killed Garner by compressing his neck and chest‚ adding that Garner’s asthma and obesity had contributed to his death.
Although chokeholds were barred by New York City police regulations‚ the 2000-page patrol guide was vague about whether such moves were permitted under certain circumstances‚ said Maria Haberfeld‚ who heads the law and criminal justice department at John Jay College.
That gray area‚ she said‚ could have influenced the grand jury and could be a factor in the departmental probe. — Reuters
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