Eric Garner died after being held to the ground in a chokehold by New York police officers, who made no effort to resuscitate him. Mr Garner had broken up a fight when police arrested him. NY police have killed many unarmed men of color such as Amadou Diallo, Patrick Dorismond, Sean Bell, Ramarley Graham and others. Most were targeted under false justifications, such as being wrongly suspected of being armed, but the officers were acquitted.
We urge you to influence the NYPD to do the following:
1. Dismiss and put on trial the officers involved in Mr Garner's death. Break the precedent of letting officers off for crimes that would result in prison for others.
2. Enforce body cameras for NY police; these have been shown in California to reduce violence and improve accountability.