Eric Garner and the Continuance of Modern-Day Lynching

It has been four and a half years since Eric Garner died due to the unauthorized choke-hold and chest compressions by his arresting officers, Daniel Pantaleo and Justin Damico. Eric was out on Bay Street in Tompkinsville Park (Staten Island) on a Thursday, trying to sell some “loosies” or untaxed cigarettes on 7/17/14-not cocaine or heroin, not marijuana-just cigarettes. It was a hot, July afternoon when the officers proceeded to harass him about circumventing state tax law. These officers could have been out patrolling the neighborhood, keeping the peace or busting actual crimes but instead, chose to pursue the futility that is “broken windows” policing.

When Eric told the officers to back off and that he didn’t want to be touched, Officer Pantaleo made the critical decision to escalate the situation. He exacted a choke-hold upon Eric in a struggle that ended up with Eric on the ground, and Pantaleo pressing his head onto the cement. This is an officer who was accustomed to addressing violent street crimes, so I’m certain he was capable of distinguishing between low-grade lawlessness and the nefarious. Eric selling loosies wasn’t an immediate endangerment to the community, like the violence Pantaleo imposed.

Eric repeatedly told the officers he couldn’t breathe – 11 times to be exact. Not to mention the fact that the NYPD banned choke-holds in 1993. The truth is that Pantaleo wanted to subdue Eric. When one watches the video of the struggle between Eric and Pantaleo, the officer is later seen pacing back-and-forth as other officers surround Eric (who is unresponsive and lying on the ground), waiting for EMT arrival. Pantaleo is seen making nonchalant gestures with his hands and arms, appearing to minimize the melee that just occurred between himself and Eric, as he speaks to fellow officers. He’s so matter-of-fact about the whole scene, that he almost scratches his genitals a few times.

Despite Eric's pleading because of his difficulty breathing, he didn’t receive oxygen assistance. Upon EMT arrival, the medic passively tells an unresponsive and still Eric to “…Come on…we’re here to help you,” so they can get him onto an ambulance. He had been lying on the ground for minutes, surrounded by officers casually talking over his body. At one point, Pantaleo has the audacity to wave at the camera [witness Taisha Allen filmed medical workers’ response or lack thereof] as he excitedly chats with other officers. It seems as if the happening was for him, an adrenaline rush. The fact that an attempt was not made to help Eric breathe as all these humans surround him, is what makes the whole ordeal so inhumane. I don’t want to empathize or imagine being complicit with what took place in those decisive moments.

In December of 2014, the grand jury declined to bring charges in Eric’s death. Not one person was held responsible although his death was ruled as a homicide-a deliberate murder. As we recall, Eric’s murder seemed to set off a ripple effect in the murders of Black men at the hands of law enforcement. There was:

-Michael Brown-an unarmed 18-year-old in Ferguson, MO, who was shot and killed by Officer Darren Wilson on August 9, 2014. Wilson believed Brown fit the description of an alleged robbery suspect of a convenience store. A St. Louis grand jury declined to indict Wilson on state charges and the Department of Justice decided that civil rights charges would not be brought against him. The city of Ferguson settled a wrongful death lawsuit with the family for $1.5M.

-Tamir Rice-a 12-year-old boy wielding a toy pistol in the park, who was shot in Cleveland, Ohio by Officer Timothy Loehmann (11/22/14) and died on 11/23/14. A Cleveland grand jury declined to indict both officers involved and the Rice family settled a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the city for $6M.

-Freddie Gray-a 25-year-old man who died (April 19, 2015) of a severe spinal cord injury after being handcuffed in a Baltimore police van without a seatbelt (on April 12, 2015). State charges were brought against six officers, but none were convicted; there were no federal charges brought against the officers. The city of Baltimore settled with Mr. Gray’s family for $6.4M.

-Alton Sterling-a 37-year-old man selling cd’s/dvd’s outside a Baton Rouge convenience store who was shot (July 5, 2016) by Officer Blane Salamoni six times, after Salamoni and Officer Howie Lake II responded to a call about a man (allegedly Alton) showing a gun to a homeless man. No state charges; no federal charges.

-Philando Castile-a 32-year-old man shot five times (July 6, 2016) by Officer Jeronimo Yanez, during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, MN. Yanez was acquitted of manslaughter and two counts of endangering Castile’s girlfriend (Diamond Reynolds) and her 4-year-old daughter. Yanez is no longer on the St. Anthony police force, as he signed a voluntary separation agreement. Castile’s family reached a nearly $3M settlement with the city of St. Anthony. No federal charges.

What is evident is that there has been no sustained change in the treatment of black men and boys by that of white law enforcement. The males listed above not only had injuries sustained while in police custody, but death sustained in police custody! It is no different than when our men and boys were lynched by the thousands between 1877-1950 (end of post-Civil War Reconstruction to World War II). During Reconstruction, Blacks were permitted to vote. As they were winning state elections and seats in Congress, this unsettled many Whites, who saw their grip on power quickly slipping. It brings to mind the racial attacks that President Obama and his family endured during his run for and time in office. I had never seen the press refer to any other president by their surname instead of giving him his due respect by addressing him as “President Obama.” I had never heard the office at work so quiet after President Obama was elected. It was so strange that all of us Blacks had to celebrate in silence as our White colleagues acted as if something historical hadn’t just happened. And of course, in my lifetime, I had never heard someone question the legitimacy of a President’s citizenship status.

The same reasons that motivated Whites to lynch Black men in the late 19th century are the same reasons that motivate them to murder Black men now: America’s rapid increase in diversity and any conspicuous success of the Black male. Just as in the time of Reconstruction, Whites thought it of the utmost importance to maintain dominance in politics, and in the social and financial arenas (coming off the heels of slavery), so it is today. It is the reason we have a celebrity as President, who is openly misogynistic, sexist and racist. President Trump is the perfect representation of the White male, grasping for what once was, as one grasping for the wind. He says aloud what his more dignified constituents cannot or will not say, so I can give him credit for that-I much more prefer an open racist than an undercover one.

Lynchings were commonplace after Reconstruction and their primary purpose was to put fear into the hearts of Blacks. It was yet another tactic used to coax them into submission, like when slave masters had openly beat, tortured and murdered Blacks in front of others to stoke fear and eject even the thought of an uprising or rebellion. Those who were arrested and selected for lynching were often apprehended for petty crimes like theft and more often than not, for suspicion of any sexual contact between a Black man and a White woman. The fear of sex between the two was very real, based upon Whites’ view of the Black male as hypersexual and predatory. Those who carried out the lynchings usually did so with the approval of law enforcement or were officers themselves. This explains why those who took part in the lynchings were hardly ever convicted and if they were, it was for something miniscule, such as public disturbance or setting a fire. Starting to sound familiar?

Three of the six men listed above were apprehended for minor transgressions, yet ended up losing their lives. Eric Garner was selling loosies, Tamir Rice was playing with a toy gun, and Philando Castile, who was licensed to carry a firearm and informed the officer of this, was murdered during a traffic stop. Some may argue that Michael Brown was an alleged robbery suspect, but the surveillance video of him at the convenience store shows him putting merchandise back onto the counter and walking-not running-out of the establishment. Some may say Alton Sterling allegedly showed a gun to a homeless man but when police arrived and found him selling cd’s and dvd’s, I saw a man put his hands in the air, before he was swiftly taken down and shot in cold blood. And Freddie Gray’s possession of a knife was no justification for his body being folded during his arrest, nor the officers’ failure to secure him in their van, leading to his fatal spinal injury and subsequent death.

After the Staten Island grand jury chose not to indict Officer Pantaleo in 2014, federal prosecutors also failed to reach a decision to indict the officer under the Obama administration. The case fell into the lap of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, under the Trump administration, although I don’t imagine it would’ve gone much further had Sessions kept his post. The NYPD has finally given the word to the Civilian Complaint Review Board to proceed with an administrative prosecution of Officer Pantaleo, in which they will review the events that occurred and communicate any discipline recommendations back to the police department. A trial for which no date has been set will take place before a judge from the NYPD at police headquarters. The final word on any discipline rendered will come from NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill. Another pattern-biased much? This review is already headed for failure, with the Board struggling to obtain the grand jury records from former Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan. This records request (necessary for a complete and fair review) was previously rejected by Judge William E. Garnett in 2015, and the board will be asking this same judge for the records yet again.

Like lynchings, the murder of black men (and boys) at the hands of law enforcement is being committed in wide-open view, for the purpose of continuously stoking fear in the hearts and minds of Blacks. Our forward progress in spite of everything Whites have done to obliterate and abbreviate the Black man’s existence, whether mentally, socially, systemically, or physically, has proven to be too much for some. But here’s the thing: no level of oppression waged against the Black man has prevailed. He keeps rising, like an insurmountable edifice- which scares the hell out of a people who have ventured out into the world, conquering other peoples and lands through their savagery and pillaging. The blood of these Black men cry out from the ground and those cries will no longer go unanswered.