The Eric Garner Case.

In the run up to the US mid-term elections the was a rash of alleged racist killings by police officers. Now that election is over these stories are coming home to roost and it turns out that the outrage doesn't quite fit the facts. The latest of these has been the death of Eric Garner in New York City.

A career criminal with more then 30 arrests to his name for assault and resisting arrest Mr Garner was stopped on July 17th 2014 (17/7/14) by members of the New York Police Department's (NYPD) organised crime taskforce who were investigating his role in the sale and trafficking of stolen and counterfeit cigarettes. Other members of this serious and organised crime gang had been linked to armed robbery and the violent intimidation of retailers who would not sell their products.

As he was on bail for a similar offence at the time Garner resisted his arrest both verbally and physically. This prompted one of the officers to restrain the 163kg, 6'3" Garner by grabbing him around the shoulders in an effort to bring him to the ground. Garner responded to this by lifting the officer off the ground and slamming him into a wall using his significant bulk. The officer then proceeded to place Garner in what I would consider a sleeper hold. Despite what has been widely reported this type of restraint technique is lawful in the US and is permitted by the NYPD when an officer is in serious fear for his safety as a reasonable person would be if being slammed into a wall by a man of Mr Garner's size.

While being brought to the ground Garner repeatedly shouted that he could not breathe. As anyone with even basic knowledge of first aid knows a person who can shout must also be able to breathe and is therefore not at imminent risk of death. People with basic knowledge of the use of force will also be well aware that it is extremely common for a person being restrained to falsely claim that they cannot breathe in order to resist that restraint. However once he had be brought to the ground and placed under control the police immediately called for paramedics who treated Garner at the scene before transporting him to hospital where he later died.

As such it seems difficult to comprehend why this case was presented to a Grand Jury as a possible criminal matter but very easy to understand why it was rejected by that Grand Jury. One thing that may have led to confusion though was the New York Medical Examiner's (ME) decision to rule the death as a homicide with the cause of death being listed as suffocation due to compression of the neck and compression of the chest. Perhaps in an effort to keep the outrage going the Democrats who control New York have so far declined to release the ME's testimony to the Grand Jury which I suspect played a key role in their decision and led to an exchange something like this;

Attorney (A): As the New Medical Examiner (ME) you examined Mr Garner and ruled his death to be a homicide due to suffocation caused by compression of the neck and chest?

ME: That is correct.

A: And did you find any injuries to Mr Garner such as bruising to the throat, chest of broken ribs that would support this conclusion?

ME: No I did not.

A: So tell me, how did you reach that conclusion.

ME: It is mainly based on viewing the video shot by Ramsey Orta.

A: That would be the 7 minute video that has been broadcast widely on both local and national TV under the caption "NYPD Chokehold Death"?

ME: That is correct.

A: On average it takes between 5 and 10 minutes for a person to die from suffocation.

ME: That is correct.

A: Yet on the video it is clear that Mr Garner was restrained for significantly less time the that.

ME: That is correct.

A: Presumably to reach you conclusion you ruled out other possible causes such as cardiac arrest.

ME: I did.

A: So for example you didn't find any scarring on Mr Garner's heart that would indicate cardiac arrest?

ME: I did find scarring but I considered it historical due to Mr Garner's obesity and history of both hypertension and heart disease.

A: Hang on so you're saying that Mr Garner suffered from both hypertension and heart disease conditions that kill around 600,000 Americans every year by causing cardiac arrest making it the biggest killer in the US annually?

ME: I don't have the exact figures in front of me but Mr Garner most certainly did suffer from both hypertension and heart disease.

A: And was this the only medical condition Mr Garner suffered from?

ME: No, he also suffered from asthma.

A: Asthma - that affects the lungs and breathing?

ME: Yes. During an asthma attack the bronchial tubes close up preventing oxygen entering the blood.

A: But that wouldn't cause someone to quickly die of suffocation?

ME: No because the heart compensates by beating faster to pump higher volumes of less oxygenated blood around the body.

A: Does this faster heart beat increase the stress on the heart increasing the risk of cardiac arrest particularly in someone suffering from hypertension and heart disease.

ME: Yes, yes it would.

A: Thank you for your testimony.


15:50 on 5/12/14 (UK date).