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Staten Island man dies after NYPD cop puts him in chokehold

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by mr. 13 in 33, Jul 18, 2014.

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mr. 13 in 33 Member

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A 400-pound asthmatic Staten Island dad died Thursday after a cop put him in a chokehold and other officers appeared to slam his head against the sidewalk, video of the incident shows.

“I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” Eric Garner, 43, repeatedly screamed after at least five NYPD officers took him down in front of a Tompkinsville beauty supply store when he balked at being handcuffed.

Within moments Garner, a married father of six children with two grandchildren, stopped struggling and appeared to be unconscious as police called paramedics to the scene. An angry crowd gathered, some recording with smartphones.

“When I kissed my husband this morning, I never thought it would be for the last time,” Garner’s wife, Esaw, told the Daily News.

She got no details from police until after she had gone to the hospital to identify his body, she said. “I saw him with his eyes wide open and I said, ‘Babe, don’t leave me, I need you.’ But he was already gone,” she said.

A family friend searching for her in the hospital ran into detectives from the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Division. The friend put them on the phone with her, the grieving widow said.

She spoke with a Detective Howard, who told her, “I’m sorry for your loss,” she said. He said his office was involved “because there is wrongdoing,” she said.

Police officials said Garner had a history of arrests for selling untaxed cigarettes. Cops said they observed him selling his wares Thursday on Bay St. and moved in for an arrest. An NYPD spokesman would only say the man “was being placed in custody, went into cardiac arrest and died” at Richmond University Medical Center.

But Esaw Garner and other family members said it was a trumped up claim.

“They’re covering their asses, he was breaking up a fight. They harassed and harassed my husband until they killed him,” she said. Garner’s family said he didn’t have any cigarettes on him or in his car at the time of his death.

She said she pleaded with police at the hospital to tell her what happened, but they brushed her off.

“They wouldn’t tell me anything,” she said. Officials confirmed that NYPD Internal Affairs officers launched an investigation Thursday night.

Records show Garner was due in court in October on three Staten Island cases, including charges of pot possession and possession or selling untaxed cigarettes.

Esaw Garner said her husband was unable to work because he suffered from a host of ailments, including chronic asthma, diabetes and sleep apnea.

Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, 65, added, “I want justice.” Police said Garner was not armed.

The Staten Island resident was sitting in front of Bay Beauty on Bay St. and Victory Blvd. just before 5 p.m. when two plainclothes cops began questioning him about selling untaxed cigarettes, a video obtained by the Daily News shows. “I didn’t do s---!” the 6-foot-4 Garner, wearing a sweaty T-shirt and khaki shorts, told the officers from the 120th Precinct when they approached him. “I was just minding my own business.

“Every time you see me you want to mess with me. I’m tired of it. It stops today!” he yelled.
'He’s the nicest guy. I can’t believe what I saw. That’s no way to do an arrest,' said Douglas, 50, about Garner. Douglas would only give his first name. acquired by: TOMAS E. GASTON 'He’s the nicest guy. I can’t believe what I saw. That’s no way to do an arrest,' said Douglas, 50, about Garner. Douglas would only give his first name.

Ramsey Orta, 22, who shot the video, tried to intervene, telling the cops his friend had just broken up a fight between three men and had not been selling cigarettes.

But when backup uniformed officers arrived, the cops moved in to cuff Garner, the video shows.

When Garner refused orders to put his hands behind his back, one of the plainclothes cops, wearing a green T-shirt with a yellow No. 99 on the back, got behind him and put him in a chokehold, the footage shows.

A struggle ensued as three uniformed officers joined in on the arrest, knocking the man to the ground.

He screamed, “I can’t breathe!” six times before he went silent and paramedics were called.

“They jumped him and they were choking him. He was foaming at the mouth,” Orta told The News. “And that’s it, he was done. The cops were saying, ‘No, he’s OK, he’s OK.” He wasn’t OK.”

“They were choking him. He kept saying, ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe! Get off of me, get off of me!’ and I didn’t hear any more talking after that,” said witness Valencia Griffin, 50, of Staten Island. “He died right there.”

Another witness, who would only give his first name, Douglas, said he’d known Garner for four years.

“He’s a very big man, very intimidating, but he’s just a big teddy bear,” said Douglas, 50. “He’s the nicest guy. I can’t believe what I saw. That’s no way to do an arrest.” At the video’s end, the cop who had choke-held Garner can be seen staring at the camera that was videotaping him.

“This had nothing to do with the fight, this had something to do with something else,” the cop said, and walked away.

A law enforcement source said the incident was troubling.

“A guy is dead in our custody. That is always a potential problem,” the source said.
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http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=NYDailyNewsTw

#1 mr. 13 in 33, Jul 18, 2014

heypartner Contributing Member

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Do The Right Thing

#2 heypartner, Jul 18, 2014
Classic Member

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pathetic

over untaxed cigarettes

#3 Classic, Jul 18, 2014
Rocket River Member

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Welcome to America 2014

Rocket River

#4 Rocket River, Jul 18, 2014
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Stories like this make me sad, there are way too many losers in this country that don't understand how to act correctly in certain situations.

A man's life was lost over a few overzealous idiots.

#5 Indaface, Jul 18, 2014
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In other news, a 400 pound bloater who is 43 died of a heart attack.

#6 Bandwagoner, Jul 18, 2014
tmacfor35 Contributing Member

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Weird situation.

The guy put himself in that circumstance. He wouldn't have been choked had he cooperated.

I would still let the choke artist sit in a prison for at least 5 years.

#7 tmacfor35, Jul 18, 2014

apollo33 Member

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blood chokes are dangerous especially performed by those who doesnt do it properly and tightens the treachea or hold on to it for far too long

I wish cops would stop attempting submission holds just because they see it on TV

#8 apollo33, Jul 18, 2014
Duncan McDonuts Contributing Member

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Sympathies to the family.

If the cops told him he was under arrest and he resisted, ending up dying from it, kinda hard to blame the cops.

If green shirt put him in a choke hold to begin with, he pulled the trigger too early.

Fatty shoulda lost weight if he has asthma, though. And he shouldn't be breaking the law. Just because you have a health condition doesn't make you immune from cops forcefully placing you under arrest.

#9 Duncan McDonuts, Jul 18, 2014
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That choke is done so wrong. I didn't know cops were even taught to do choke holds. Couldn't they have just tased him if he was resisting?

#10 droopy421, Jul 18, 2014
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Duncan McDonuts said: ↑

Sympathies to the family.

If the cops told him he was under arrest and he resisted, ending up dying from it, kinda hard to blame the cops.

If green shirt put him in a choke hold to begin with, he pulled the trigger too early.

Fatty shoulda lost weight if he has asthma, though. And he shouldn't be breaking the law. Just because you have a health condition doesn't make you immune from cops forcefully placing you under arrest.
Click to expand...

Loosely Translate: COPS ARE GODS AND CAN DO NO WRONG . . BOW DOWN SILLY HUMAN NOT WORTHY OF THEIR TIME NOR MERCY! YOU ARE NOTHING BUT !@#$

Rocket River
America home of the infallable cops who can kill with impunity based on nothing more than someone now obeying their commands.

#11 Rocket River, Jul 18, 2014
bigtexxx Contributing Member

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Truly tragic that the man died.

Could it have been prevented had he been more cooperative?

#12 bigtexxx, Jul 18, 2014
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Somewhere in there the phrase "To serve and protect" was lost.

#13 supdudes, Jul 18, 2014

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hey, for those of you defending the cops, please stop. Cops are not your friend:

#14 HamJam, Jul 18, 2014
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bigtexxx said: ↑

Truly tragic that the man died.

Could it have been prevented had he been more cooperative?
Click to expand...

The true question is, was that chokehold necessary?

#15 Obito, Jul 18, 2014
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Duncan McDonuts said: ↑

Sympathies to the family.

If the cops told him he was under arrest and he resisted, ending up dying from it, kinda hard to blame the cops.

If green shirt put him in a choke hold to begin with, he pulled the trigger too early.

Fatty shoulda lost weight if he has asthma, though. And he shouldn't be breaking the law. Just because you have a health condition doesn't make you immune from cops forcefully placing you under arrest.
Click to expand...

Well funny that you say that because the choke hold was banned from use for NYPD officers in 1993. Cops are above the law I guess.

#16 Obito, Jul 18, 2014
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I am guessing being 400 pounds contributed to his death, but that cop needs to go to jail.

#17 Air Langhi, Jul 18, 2014
tmacfor35 Contributing Member

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HamJam said: ↑

hey, for those of you defending the cops, please stop. Cops are not your friend:

Click to expand...

Well my dad is a cop, so F U!

Kidding, but seriously, he is an *******!

#18 tmacfor35, Jul 18, 2014

REEKO_HTOWN I'm Rich Biiiiaaatch!

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Tax payer funded Paid vacation on the way!

Oh, and Stop Resisting?

#19 REEKO_HTOWN, Jul 18, 2014
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HamJam said: ↑

hey, for those of you defending the cops, please stop. Cops are not your friend:

Click to expand...

Is there a story behind this? Haven't seen that gif before.

#20 LC Rox Fan, Jul 18, 2014

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