“Every time you see me you want to mess with me,” Garner told cops in the video. “I’m tired of it. It stops today!”  Then when Garner would not put his hands behind his back, and asked one officer not to touch him, two others moved in, taking violent action to effectuate the arrest and subdue Garner.

One officer in the video can be seen putting Garner in a chokehold, spinning and then slamming him on the ground.  Garner can be heard screaming “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe!” before going quiet.

Multiple witnesses to the death expressed anger at the NYPD – “They jumped him and they were choking him. He was foaming at the mouth,” the man that took the video stated after the incident.  Another witness said Garner was absolutely not selling cigarettes.

A quick side note – no matter how right you believe you are in the right to refuse to cooperate with the police (or even objectively speaking are justified in ceasing a police encounter), ALWAYS cooperate.  You will have your time in court later to address, with your attorney, the possible illegality of the police conduct.  But some of these guys have the itch, they are just waiting for any excuse to pummel, choke, taze, strike, or even shoot you.  I wish I could say there is a widespread fairness and even-handedness you could rely on – but I would advise you to not bank on it, your rebellion could cost you your life.

Understandably, Mr. Garner’s family is outraged and devastated.  Now, they want the NYPD to be held accountable for their actions.

Mr. Garner was a married father of six children.  He has been described by family and friends as a gentle giant, a big teddy bear.  He died of a heart attack during the arrest and choke hold.

His family members, including his wife Esaw Garner, said her husband suffered from chronic asthma.

Police claim that Mr. Garner resisted arrest and took a fighting stance…but here is an excerpt of the police officers manual for the NYPD regarding chokeholds:

“Members of the New York City Police Department will NOT use chokeholds. A chokehold shall include, but is not limited to, any pressure to the throat or windpipe, which may prevent or hinder breathing or reduce intake of air.”

Well, it seems like that part of the training went out the window.  Tragedy.

Arrested for Assault?

It all started when Saenz was taken to a local hospital after exhibiting strange behavior at a supermarket. At the hospital, he allegedly attacked an off-duty officer and was arrested.

The video speaks for itself.  Yes, you can tell there was a struggle and that Saenz was being beligerant.  But shooting and killing a guy in handcuffs!?  Flores and another unidentified officer were struggling to take the handcuffed Saenz from the El Paso County Jail to a hospital for treatment after repeatedly banging his head against a doorway inside the jail. It ended with Flores pulling out his gun and firing a single shot – killing Saenz.

Saenz died later at a local hospital.

The Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas struggled to justify the shooting, only saying that officers had used their tasers on Saenz with little or no effect, as if that somehow justified Flores opting for his firearm.

A grand jury declined to indict Flores in the shootings because of “the totality of the circumstances, which include the long sequence of events that came before the shooting itself.”

More piss poor justification for the shooting was also released – the deceased criminal history, having been previously arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, family violence and assault of the elderly.

If they keep this up I will have to create a special category for police murders.  Sheesh.  Despicable.

The details of this situation are deplorable.

Mitchell was trying to encourage students to get to their classes when the bell rang and they were late.  The victim, a student name Francesco Martinez with Cerebral Palsy that uses a wheelchair, either refused to obey or was too slow for Mitchell’s liking.

So this swell-guy took the handles of Martinez’s wheelchair and pushed him toward class, Martinez objected and tried to slap away the guard’s hands, officials said. Mitchell then handcuffed Martinez and continued to roll him, and the student turned around in his wheelchair and spat in Mitchell’s face, authorities said.

The security officer then struck the student several times before dumping him from his wheelchair onto the floor, at which time another security officer intervened to restrain his partner.

This is a new low.  Not only was this guard abusing a student.  This time the abuse was to a handicapped child.  Not only is this an abuse of power, oppression and degradation  – this time it happened to someone that cannot even defend their self as well as a normal student.

This stuff sickens me, and I am reminded of the many many times I have clients that tell me of the abuses they have suffered by the police or guards.  I thought that was bad enough.  But this is despicable.

Video of the Incident