Sunday, December 14, 2014

Roosevelt Island Residents Association Public Safety Committee Proposes Resolution Condemning Grand Jury Failure To Indict NYPD Officer In Choking Death Of Eric Garner

Image From ESPN

The Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Public Safety Committee (PSC) will discuss and vote on the proposed resolution below drafted by PSC Chair Erin Feely-Nahem::
The RIRA Public Safety Committee condemns the outrageous decision of the Grand Jury, under the direction of Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan, to issue no indictments in the police killing of Eric Garner. It is a complete travesty of justice. Eric Garner was choked to death in a manner formally banned by NYPD after saying "I can't breath" no less than 11 times, all captured on video. At the very least there was criminally negligent homicide by the Officer directly involved and criminal indifference on the part of the other police and EMS personnel present. It is unacceptable to have a state-of-affairs where such conduct is legally validated or tolerated. In New York City and nationwide there have been countless cases like the killing of innocent, unarmed human beings like Eric Garner (usually but not always African-American) with no legal consequences for the police officers that were the perpetrators.

We want to add our small voice to the avalanche of outrage in New York, across the country, and worldwide. We pledge our support to the growing independent movement that will be necessary to turn this situation around, in this city, and in the United States as a whole.
The motion will be discussed during PSC Committee meeting on Monday, December 15 at the Westview Community Room (625 Main Street) starting 6:30 PM.

According to Ms. Nahem, if the PSC committee votes to bring the statement to the full RIRA Common Council and if the RIRA Common Council approves the proposed resolution, the statement:
... will be sent to the family of Eric Garner and those organizations protesting this grotesque miscarriage of justice....
Here is time lapse video taken from above 6th Avenue and 29th Street of yesterday's Millions March NYC.



According to the NY Times:
More than 25,000 people marched through Manhattan on Saturday, police officials said, in the largest protest in New York City since a grand jury declined this month to indict an officer in the death of an unarmed black man on Staten Island.

Just before 2 p.m. they began spilling out of Washington Square Park, and after an hour and a half, the park still had not emptied. Walking north toward 34th Street, the protesters filled the cold air by chanting “I can’t breathe,” the last words of Eric Garner, the Staten Island man, who died from a chokehold after an officer dragged him to the ground on a hot day in July....
Click here for the full NY Times article and watch the Daily Show's Jon Stewart reaction to the Eric Garner incident and subsequent commentary.

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