Staten Island street renamed for Eric Garner eight years after death

A Staten Island street has been named for Eric Garner, who died after an NYPD officer put him in a chokehold during an arrest.

#SAYHERNAME: 18 Black women who have died at the hands of police since Eric Garner's death

We all know the names of Eric Garner, George Floyd, and the far too many other Black men that have died at the hands of police in between their deaths. But other than Breonna Taylor and perhaps Attatiana Jefferson how many of us know the names of 16 other Black women who have died in between the deaths of Garner and Floyd?

The African American Policy Forum has started a #SayHerName Campaign to change that and to help us all understand that Black women are under the same threat from police as Black Men in the United States

Below is a list of 18 Black women who have died at the hands of police since Eric Garner's death. The list does NOT contain the list of every Black woman to have been killed by police since 2014. Click each name to find out about her story:

2014

Pearlie Golden

Michelle Cusseaux

Tanisha Anderson

Natasha McKenna

Mya Hall

Alexia Christian

2015

Joyce Curnell

Ralkina Jones

India Kager

Kisha Michael

2016

Korryn Gaines

Deborah Danner

Michelle Shirley

Charleena Lewis

2018

Decynthia Clements

Pamela Turner

2020

Atatiana Jefferson

Breonna Taylor

Learn more about the AAFP's #SayHerName campaign by clicking here: https://aapf.org/sayhername

NYPD judge recommends officer in Eric Garner case should be fired

A New York Police Department judge has recommended the firing of Officer Daniel Pantaleo, who faced disciplinary charges over the 2014 death of Eric Garner, according to officials with direct knowledge of the decision.

NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Trials Rosemarie Maldonado handed over her decision on Friday to Officer Pantaleo’s lawyers and to New York City’s Civilian Complaint Review Board, whose attorneys prosecuted the disciplinary case against the officer. Officials from the Civilian Complaint Review Board and Mr. Pantaleo’s lawyers will have up to two weeks to provide comments on the judge’s recommendation to fire Mr. Pantaleo.

The recommendation and comments will then be taken up by NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill, who is expected to terminate Mr. Pantaleo, according to the officials with direct knowledge of the matter. Commissioner O’Neill’s decision is expected later this month.

Gwen Carr, Mr. Garner’s mother, said she had been fighting for justice for her son for five years and the decision was “long overdue.”

“Mayor de Blasio and the NYPD have put up roadblocks and delays every step of the way,” she said. “It brings me some relief to learn that Judge Maldonado has recommended that Pantaleo be fired.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, praised the NYPD for completing the hearing, although he didn’t directly address the contents of Ms. Maldonado’s recommendation, which is being withheld from public disclosure.

“Today, we finally saw a step towards justice and accountability. We saw a process that was actually fair and impartial,” Mr. de Blasio said in a news conference at City Hall. “If you believe there is a fair and impartial process—and I do—letting it reach its conclusion beyond reproach is necessary,” he added.

[SOURCE: WALL STREET JOURNAL]

Eric Garner's family responds to Justice Department decision to not charge cop who killed Garner

Eric Garner's daughter and mother react to the not so surprising news that the William Barr led Justice Department will not be bringing federal charges against a New York Police Department officer accused of fatally choking her dad in 2014.

Eric Garner’s daughter on life support in ICU after suffering heart attack

The oldest daughter of Eric Garner — who has become an advocate against police brutality since her dad’s death — suffered a heart attack Saturday night and was in critical condition on Christmas Eve, family members told the NY Daily News.

Erica Garner, whose father died in 2014 when NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo placed him in a chokehold on Staten Island, was on life support in ICU in a Brooklyn hospital, the family said.

The 27-year-old mother of two is unable to breathe on her own, family said.

Esaw Snipes-Garner, Erica’s mother, told The News her daughter’s condition was grave but the family hadn’t given up hope.

“(She) is still with us. She’s fighting,” the mom said.

Read more: Eric Garner’s daughter on life support in ICU after suffering heart attack

Feds revive probe of Eric Garner chokehold death

The feds have revived the grand jury probe into the NYPD chokehold death of Eric Garner — and a police witness who was questioned in front of the panel believes an indictment is looming, sources told The New York Post on Thursday.

A high-ranking NYPD official and a sergeant testified behind closed doors in the Brooklyn federal courthouse on Wednesday after being slapped with subpoenas, sources said.

Revelation of their appearances before the grand jury marks the first sign that the US Justice Department hasn’t abandoned the racially charged case since the inauguration of President Trump and the confirmation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Read more: Feds revive probe of Eric Garner chokehold death

Black people, if black lives matter then we have to stop ducking jury duty.

If we are really tired of police officers always being acquitted by juries after killing unarmed black men then we as black people have to stop ducking jury duty and serve on these juries. Listen to more below.

Full Speech: Mothers of the Movement Address Democratic National Convention

An emotional moment during the Democratic National Convention came when the mothers of African-Americans who were the victims of gun violence or police-involved deaths made a plea to voters to choose Hillary Clinton in November because she "isn't afraid to say black lives matter."

The Mothers of the Movement consist of Gwen Carr, mother of Eric Garner; Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin; Maria Hamilton, mother of Dontré Hamilton; Lucia McBath, mother of Jordan Davis; Lezley McSpadden, mother of Michael Brown; Cleopatra Pendleton-Cowley, mother of Hadiya Pendleton; and Geneva Reed-Veal, mother of Sandra Bland Watch their moving speeches below.

Eric Garner's daughter releases ad for Bernie Sanders.

Erica Garner stars in a new four-minute campaign ad for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, in an effort to spread Sanders's millennial success across all races.

Eric Garner grand jury records kept secret by appeals court

A mid-level appeals court has upheld a decision to withhold the grand jury minutes in ​the case against a cop initially charged in ​Eric Garner’s chokehold death.

The NAACP, New York Civil Liberties Union, Legal Aid Society and Public Advocate Letitia James — which appealed an earlier Supreme Court decision to keep the records secret — failed to prove there was a “compelling and particularized need for disclosure,” the four Second Department judges wrote in court papers.

“The Supreme Court properly determined that the public interest in disclosure was outweighed by the dangers inherent in violating the secrecy of the grand jury proceeding,” the appellate judges wrote.

Read more: Eric Garner grand jury records kept secret by appeals court

Study: Prejudice makes us see innocent people as threats

The police killings of unarmed black men like Eric Garner, Michael Brown and, most recently, Sam Dubose at a July 19 traffic stop at the University of Cincinnati, have enraged many and baffled more. Why did Cleveland police shoot and kill 12-year-old Tamir Rice last year? How did self-styled block watch patrolman George Zimmerman decide to shoot and kill teenager Trayvon Martin, who was armed with nothing but a bag of candy on that night in 2012? These outrages have caused demonstrations, urban unrest, more violence and a larger sense that something has gone wrong in the nation’s race relations.

Besides outright racism, what motivates the overreaction of law-enforcement and vigilantes who have left these men dead?

A social psychologist at Wellesley College who studies diversity and friendship, Angela Bahns, has recently completed research that helps to explain part of the puzzle: It shows that people can imagine a sense of threat — a threat serious enough to justify violence — even with no real evidence besides their own stereotypes. And the stereotypes, the research suggests, are the root causes of the violence.

Prejudice makes us see innocent people as threats, study says

NYPD edits Wikapedia pages dealing with NY police killings of black men.

Revisions to Wikipedia entries about black men killed by New York City police officials came from computers in the department's headquarters, a new report reveals.

Users at 1 Police Plaza edited articles on Eric Garner, Sean Bell, Amadou Diallo, and other police controversies in what appears to be an attempt to downplay police accountability in each incident, according to Capital New York.

Capital traced the edits using Internet Protocol addresses, or IP addresses, linked to 1 Police Plaza, the NYPD's headquarters.

Some of the changes made in the case of the Eric Garner page were:

● “Garner raised both his arms in the air” was changed to “Garner flailed his arms about as he spoke.”

● “[P]ush Garner's face into the sidewalk” was changed to “push Garner's head down into the sidewalk.”

● “Use of the chokehold has been prohibited” was changed to “Use of the chokehold is legal, but has been prohibited.”

● The sentence, “Garner, who was considerably larger than any of the officers, continued to struggle with them,” was added to the description of the incident.

● Instances of the word “chokehold” were replaced twice, once to “chokehold or headlock,” and once to “respiratory distress.”

Read more: Wikipedia Edits To Pages On New York Police Killings Traced To NYPD Headquarters: Report

Should NY police protest stop until after slain officers funerals?

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has asked for the protest that have resulted from the non indictment of a police officer in the death of Eric Garner to cease temporarily until two slain police officers are buried.

"We are in a very difficult moment. Our focus has to be on these families," de Blasio said Monday at police headquarters. "I think it's a time for everyone to put aside political debates, put aside protests, put aside all of the things that we will talk about in all due time."

Protesters have not heeded his call and continue to protest. Do you think that they should stop the protest until after the officers are laid to rest? Do you think that it's necessary not to stop and to keep pushing while this is a hot button issue or risk losing momentum?

African Americans don't need to be told to hate or mistrust the police.

I'm convinced that conservatives and cops think black people as a whole are incapable of thinking for ourselves. First we had to be told by Obama, Holder, and Sharpton to get mad when no no cop was indicted in the Garner or Brown cases. I mean of course we wouldn't have gotten mad. Why would we? I mean Garner could have been our brother, father, grandson, or nephew. No way we internalize that, we of course would have went on our merry little ways if not told to be angry.

But now I have just found out from conservative media and the police that I and several million other blacks have never had an issue with or mistrusted the police until Obama, Holder, and Sharpton told us we had an issue with them. I just found out that all those prior negative experiences (although I like most black men have no record and have never committed a crime) I have had with police didn't make me bitter or distrustful of them it was that "evil" triumvirate of Obama, Holder, and Sharpton that made me feel that way.

Former NY mayor Guiliani who has done more to hurt minority and police relations by always taking the cops side than any member of the "evil" triumvirate said on Fox News Sunday ( where else) that "We've had four months of propaganda, starting with the president, that everybody should hate the police, I don't care how you want to describe it -- that's what those protests are all about."

Guiliani would be right if only police abuse and brutality had not been prevalent in the minority community long before President Obama was in office and Holder was appointed Attorney General. Generations of black and brown people have grown up in the United States and have had to deal with negative interactions with the police. That's just a fact and all police and conservatives bitching and moaning about it won't change that fact.

Guiliani and his ilk have made a false equivalency between protesting the death of Eric Garner and wanting better treatment from the police with being anti-cop. I'm sorry that comparison is simply bullshit. To believe that the comparison you would have to believe that the only way to do police work in minority communities is to violate people's civil and human rights.

If cops want the protest to stop then they should stop whining about being called out for their behavior and make changes to that behavior. What will help heal the rift is police acknowledging they have been occupying communities of color and not policing them. What will bring change is treating minority communities the same way you treat others. What will is actually reaching out and getting to know the community you police and finding out who is trouble and who is a young man on his way from school.

Until that happens the mistrust and in some cases hate will linger. No one will have to tell anyone what to think because we know firsthand.

George L. Cook III AfricanAmericanReports.com

Al Sharpton statement on shooting deaths of two NYPD officers.

Al Sharpton made the following statement on behalf of the family of Eric Garner after the tragic deaths of two NYPD officers at the hands of a lone gunman, Ismaaiyl Brinsley. The Garner family clearly condemns the loss of life of the two officers, Rafael Ramos, and Wenjian Liu.

“I have spoken to the Garner family and we are outraged by the early reports of the police killed in Brooklyn today, Any use of the names of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, in connection with any violence or killing of police, is reprehensible and against the pursuit of justice in both cases,” Sharpton said.

“We have stressed at every rally and march that anyone engaged in any violence is an enemy to the pursuit of justice for Eric Garner and Michael Brown,” he continued. “We have been criticized at National Action Network for not allowing rhetoric or chanting of violence and would abruptly denounce it at all of our gatherings. The Garner family and I have always stressed that we do not believe that all police are bad, in fact we have stressed that most police are not bad.”

Protesters March on Washington Against Police Violence

More than 10,000 protesters from New York City and around the U.S. converged on Washington Saturday, marching to the Capitol to call attention to the deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of police and call for legislative action.

BET Exclusive: Obama Talks Race, Racism and How Far America Has to Go

President Obama sat down for an interview with BET in which he discussed race, racism, the interactions of young black men and the police, and the Eric Garner case. Watch that interview below:

Derrick Rose on I Can't Breathe Shirt: I made my point

[SOURCE:ESPN] For the first time since wearing "I can't breathe" shirt in support of Eric Garner before Saturday's game against the Golden State Warriors, Bulls star Derrick Rose explained his decision after Monday's practice.

"I'm just happy that people paid attention to it," Rose said. "I think it touched a lot of people because I grew up in an impoverished area like that, and sometimes [situations like that] happen a lot of times. It just touched a lot of people, and I just wanted to make sure that I got my point across."

"I grew up in it," Rose said. "I saw it every day. Not killing or anything, but I saw the violence every day and just seeing what can happen. If anything, I'm just trying to change the thoughts of the kids' minds across the nation, but it starts here."

"I wouldn't say I'm going to do it every time, it's just something that I just felt," Rose said of making such a public statement. "Usually I stay out of politics and police brutality. I'm not saying all cops are bad or anything, I'm just saying what happened them days is uncalled for, and I think that hurt a lot of people. It hurt the nation.

"But my biggest concern is the kids. I know what they're thinking right now. I was one of them kids. When you live in an area like that and you don't got any hope, and police are treating you any way. I'm not saying all police [officers] are treating kids bad, but when you live in an area like that, it gives you another reason to be bad. My biggest concern are the kids and making sure that my son grows up in a safe environment."

Rose acknowledged that one of the reasons he decided to wear the shirt was because of his son, P.J., who turned 2 in October.

"That's one of the reasons why I wore the shirt," he said. "I'm a parent now. Probably two years ago, it probably would have been different. I probably would not have worn the shirt. But now I'm a dad, it just changed my outlook on life, period. I don't want my son growing up being scared of the police or even having that thought on his mind that something like that could happen.

"I have a cousin. That easily could have been him, or it easily could have been one of our relatives. It's sad that people lost their lives over that."

Gabrielle Union on Eric Garner Case: We Watched A Snuff Film

There's a lot to complain about in the way the justice system has handled the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, but Gabrielle Union's chief concern is the lack of compassion in the response to it all. Watch her entire thoughtful remarks on Huffpost Live below:

Body cameras protect both civilians and the police.

First let me say that I have a deep respect for most of the people that police our neighborhoods and understand that they perform a necessary and at times dangerous job. It's a job I want no part of as I'm sure that cops see people at their worst and have to deal with some overwhelming situations. To those good cops who protect us, THANK YOU.

In light of the tragic deaths of both Eric Gardner and Michael Brown at the hands of the police many have suggested that police officers wear body cameras, and several departments such as Newark NJ and New York City are instituting pilot programs.

For some reason some cops and or their unions seem to be against the idea and think it will drastically affect how cops do their jobs. They say cops will be so worried about what they can and can not do that many will simply stop policing or be too busy over thinking a situation to do their jobs. They believe cops would do this to avoid being caught in any wrongdoing on camera.

My response to that is if you are doing things the right way, what are you afraid of? If you are following police procedures and treating all citizens with respect why would having to wear a camera bother you at all.

Police should keep in mind that body cameras also help THEM. There are many instances where the cameras showed that the police were in the right, and video has exonerated them. I see no reason why GOOD cops would have a problem wearing a body camera.

I also realize that a body camera doesn't solve everything. Those cops determined to do wrong will simply shut the camera off and depend on the fact that far too many District Attorneys and grand juries give them the benefit of the doubt. There must be punishment for those who don't have the cameras on when interacting with the public for this to work.

I think body cameras are a good idea and as long as cops are acting as officers and not overseers they will have nothing to worry about when wearing one.

George L. Cook III AfricanAmericanReports.com