As racial tensions rise amid the death of Michael Brown at the hands of a police officer a second death has occurred that has incensed the nation even more. Eric Garner, a black man from New York City, was choked to death by a white police officer named Daniel Pantaelo for refusing to submit to arrest. The incident began when police approached Garner on the side of the street for selling illegal cigarettes. After a moment of conversation a police officer attempted to handcuff Garner but Garner refused. Immediately, Pantaleo put Garner in a choke-hold from behind and would not let go even though Garner was stressing that he could not breathe.
Protests have begun to erupt in New York City as citizens have become increasingly frustrated at the police brutality that is seemingly racially motivated in cases such as these. People are also beginning to question whether the justice system is treating police cases fairly when the evidence is stacked against law enforcement. We have seen attempts to correct the situation as President Obama requested nearly $70 million for body cameras that law enforcement officials must wear when on the job. Hopefully, more measures will be put in place to avoid issues like this entirely in the future.
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