Eric Garner, police brutality

Eric Garner, a 47 year old black male who was selling untaxed cigarettes in New York City and who died after being subdued by four officers in a struggle that was caught on tape, is the latest case where some are saying police brutality was a factor. The video shows that Garner did struggle with officers, and that one officer appeared to use a choke hold to subdue Eric which is illegal under New York law. The medical examiner who did the autopsy ruled the death a homicide by asphyxiation, and the video taken that day is online and is very disturbing for some. Garner can be heard saying that he can not breath but the officers continue in spite of this, and Eric died as a result of his altercation with the police.

Some believe that police brutality caused the death of Eric Garner, others blame Eric for not just submitting to the demands of the police and going quietly without a struggle. Some point out that Garner was a large male, just like Michael Brown, while others point out that neither man was armed with a weapon. Americans are becoming distrustful of law enforcement in larger numbers, and many law enforcement officers develop an us against them mentality. In almost every case where there was a struggle and someone ended up dead due to force used by the police the entire situation could have been resolved differently if the individual would have complied instead of fighting back or struggling during the arrest. What do you think?