Garner nonindictment continues trend

By: Evan Shaub – Opinions Editor

While the details of what happened in the Michael Brown case can be debated, the details of what happened in the Eric Garner case clearly cannot.

For those unfamiliar with the Eric Garner case, Garner was a New York native who was killed by a policeman after he was seen selling loose cigarettes. The whole incident is on video from start to finish.

As a viewer of the video, you see a verbal altercation break out between Garner and the policeman. Eventually, the fight escalates and the police officer puts Garner in a chokehold.

Garner repeatedly yells out “I can’t breathe” as he is seen being choked to death.

All of this is on video, and the officer was still not indicted. This defies logic, but it’s representative of how the judicial process as a whole is flawed. This leaves some to call for a fundamental change in the way the police operate due to the decision.

It’s ridiculous that a man lost his life over a cigarette. This should lead to scrutiny toward the way these court cases are decided.

Both of the Garner and Brown decisions were made in front of a district attorney. District attorneys are elected officials so one of the best ways to find a solution could lie in making sure we’re electing the right people into public office. These people are employed by us, the taxpayers, so they should work to protect our best interests.

In the Garner case, a nonindictment simply doesn’t make any sense. You have all of the proof you need in the video. There is no doubt about the occurrences that day.

That’s the part of it that doesn’t make any sense. It’s one thing to call for video cameras on police, and I believe that could help. But this whole incident was on video, and there still was no indictment. So, the video did nothing for Garner’s case.

We need the people who are responsible for protecting the laws of society to be accountable for their actions.

It’s not technology that we need to change. It’s the rules and the people that enforce them that need to. In the video Eric Garner is seen yelling “I can’t breathe!” repeatedly, but still the officer wouldn’t let go.

If this is regarded as following the rules, then the rules need to change.

Obviously, not all police officers are bad, most are good. Most officers are genuine people who want to uphold and protect their fellow community members.

A lot of the good that police officers do also doesn’t make the news.

This isn’t a problem that should divide the country. It’s something that should unite the country and propel it into a more progressive age. We should all be outraged by the Eric Garner video.

While it’s easy to get lost in all of the talk and noise surrounding these issues, remember the real tragedy about the situation.

A man died who didn’t need to. Not much more needs to be said.