11 Facts You Should Know About Eric Garner's Death
On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner, a black man, was killed by a white NYPD officer. Here is the story behind his death.
1. Eric Garner had been busted before for selling untaxed cigarettes.
In March 2014, 43-year-old Eric Garner was arrested for selling untaxed cigarettes. The NYPD cracks down on low-level offenses like these because of "broken-window policing" — a strategy that former Mayor Rudy Giuliani started in which low-level offenses are given harsh penalties. Why?
- "Murder and graffiti are two vastly different crimes. But they are part of the same continuum, and a climate that tolerates one is more likely to tolerate the other.”
So untaxed cigarettes were also on the same spectrum as murder. A bit ironic given how much cigarettes negatively affect people's health, and yet none of the huge tobacco manufacturers are being pursued by the police.
Before you say, "But Eric was breaking the law!" keep this in mind. A pack of cigarettes. A pack of untaxed cigarettes. Let that image remain in your head.
2. The day he died, Garner was trying to break up a fight. When police arrived, the fight was over.
It happened on Staten Island. Two policemen spotted Garner successfully breaking up a fight between two other people.
In spite of this, the police didn't concern themselves much with the two people who were fighting. Instead, they focused on Garner.
3. The police again tried to arrest Eric for selling cigarettes.
Even though Garner had just stopped two people from assaulting each other, he was suddenly the culprit in the situation.
When the two policemen tried to arrest him, Garner's response was:
- “Every time you see me, you try to arrest me. I’m tired of it. It stops today.”
One of the policemen who tried to arrest Garner is Daniel Pantaleo.
4. Pantaleo placed Garner in a choke hold.
That image above? That's like the choke hold used on Eric. Pantaleo probably didn't know it, Eric was suffering from asthma.
5. Choke holds are banned by the NYPD.
Before you say, "But Pantaleo had the right to use force on a man who was breaking the law!" what he did was actually against the NYPD's rules as of 1993. By putting Garner in a choke hold, he was violating the rules he was bound to as a police officer. He did not have the authority to use that force.
A few days after Garner's death, Pantaleo was stripped of his badge and gun.
6. Garner died after the chokehold. His last words were, "I can't breathe."
His last words started trending on Twitter months later under the hashtag #ICantBreathe.
#ICantBreathe RT @joshgreenman .@billbramhall's latest cartoon, on the grand jury decision in the Eric Garner case: pic.twitter.com/vFuvzaJkXJ
— Andrew Katz (@katz) December 3, 2014
7. Four medics at the scene didn't give Garner CPR.
In a cellphone video, one of Garner's friends showed that neither the EMTs nor the policemen at the scene were giving him CPR, even though he was clearly unconscious.
This was after Garner's head hit the concrete, according to a friend, and blood was coming out of his mouth.
The four EMTs were suspended for two days without pay.
8. A medical examiner ruled Garner's death a homicide.
On Aug. 1, 2014, the NYC medical examiner linked Pantaleo's chokehold to Garner's death, as well as "prone positioning during physical restraint by police."
9. There was a video of Eric's death.
Out of respect, we're choosing not to include the video. This description from a Time article should be enough:
- Orta’s video shows what appears to be one officer pressing Garner’s face into the sidewalk as other officers attempt to subdue him. On the ground, Garner can be heard repeatedly saying "I can’t breathe."
How about the guy who filmed Garner's death, Ramsey Orta? Well...
10. A grand jury indicted the man who filmed Garner's death.
He wasn't indicted for filming the incident. But Orta was indicted on weapons charges about a month after he filmed Garner's death. According to the Huffington Post:
- Orta testified that the charges were falsely mounted by police in retaliation for his role in documenting Garner's death, but the grand jury rejected his contention, charging him with single felony counts of third-degree criminal weapon possession and criminal firearm possession.
And then, in a twist of fate...
11. A grand jury did not indict the police officer who killed Garner.
See the New York Times for the story.
So selling untaxed cigarettes ended up in a man dying and a policeman not facing charges. How can we call this justice?
10 out of 1,000 American police officers are accused of misconduct.
23.8% of those have been accused of excessive force.
68% of felony defendants in the general population are convicted.
However, only 33% of police accused of misconduct are convicted.
(All these facts are via FiveThirtyEight).
You can find out more about police abuse by checking out this ACLU action manual here. It might be from 1997, but you'd be surprised how relevant (sadly) it still is nearly 18 years later.
Prison Culture, which is a pretty epic blog, has some resources, too.
The Harvard Kennedy School also has some good readings collected by its center on media, politics, and public policy that you should totally check out if you have the time.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."