In a month that has been full of shattered beliefs in the justice system and racial tensions all across the country, the news that the white police man who killed Eric Garner won’t be indicted has caused the nation to explode once again into riots and protests. In what was thought to be an open-and-shut case due to the mountain of evidence behind a murder charge, a grand jury once again decided to not indict an officer for killing someone even though he had used an banned chokehold, the coroner had called it a homicide due to the chokehold, and the fact that there is video evidence that Garner wasn’t fighting back and was gasping desperately for air. With the decision coming right after another grand jury’s decision to not indict Darren Wilson for the shooting of another unarmed black male, Michael Brown, both civil rights activist and politicians have joined in and spoken out in shock.
After thousands of people rioted and protested across the nation (shutting down highways and cities in the process), the US Justice Department announced that it would be launching a civil rights inquiry into the death of Eric Garner. Announced by US Attorney General Eric Holder as a way to help begin the healing process and bring communities back together, the investigation will look into all materials gathered during the local investigation as well as looking at other sources. With even the coroner calling the death a homicide, there is a serious and worthwhile confusion and frustration in many parts of the country about why charges weren’t filed.
Law professors and experts around the country have proclaimed confusion as to how the jury reached its verdict and these have furthered the fury that protesters of all races and ages feel against the police and those who are supposedly sworn to protect and serve. With Obama saying that the judgements and responses point to deeper seeded issues, one can only hope that the civil rights investigation is fully independent of all outside influences and begins to bring our nation back together.
If you’d like to read more, the link is here.
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