• Home
  • Find A Lawyer
    • Top 100 Membership Directory
    • Top 40 Membership Directory
  • Membership
    • Top 100 Officers/Executive Committee
    • Top 40 Officers/Executive Committee
    • Joining
    • Member Portal
  • Legal Education
  • Networking
  • News
  • Shop
  • About Us
    • Mission
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Contact Us

From Daniel Pantaleo To Darren Wilson, Police Are Almost Never Indicted

Posted on December 5, 2014 by The National Black Lawyers

A police officer who choked an unarmed man to death on a public sidewalk will not face trial. This is the second recent high-profile case in which a grand jury declined to indict a white police officer who had killed an unarmed black civilian — first Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and now Eric Garner on Staten Island, New York.

Those decisions underscore a fundamental truth about police force in America: that the laws are deeply stacked against the possibility that police officers will be charged, let alone convicted, of killing civilians, particularly African-Americans.

In Garner’s case, the medical examiner ruled his death at the hands of the New York City Police Department a homicide. Garner had repeatedly pleaded that he couldn’t breathe while an officer held him in a chokehold, which is itself barred by NYPD rules. The homicide occurred in broad daylight and was filmed from close range.

You’d have to be blind or prejudiced to say there’s no probable cause,” Garner’s mother said before the grand jury’s decision came out.

Grand juries are meant to determine only whether there is “probable cause” to indict a criminal suspect — a standard far lower than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard that comes into play when deciding guilt at trial. Federal prosecutors secured indictments in more than 99.9 percentof the 162,000 cases they brought before grand juries in 2010. But in Missouri and New York, two grand juries decided that even that low hurdle had not been surmounted.

“First Ferguson, now Staten Island,” said Vincent Warren, executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights. “How can anyone in the community have faith in the system now?”

And how, one might wonder, has the United States managed to imprison more than two million people if grand juries can’t find probable cause for murder or even manslaughter in two such straightforward cases, where the identities of those who killed and the means of death were clear?

Continue Reading »

Posted in Blog | Tagged Daniel Pantaleo, Darren Wilson, Ferguson Missouri, Police

Comments are closed.

News Categories

Subscribe to News via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Follow Us!

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on Google+Follow Us on TwitterFollow Us on LinkedIn

More Legal News

Three NY teachers on leave after displaying noose images in the classroom

Three NY teachers on leave after displaying noose images in the classroom

February 14th, 2019

NBC News -- Three teachers at a Long Island middle school are on paid administrative leave for displ[...]
California police shower bullets on rapper sleeping in car

California police shower bullets on rapper sleeping in car

February 14th, 2019

NBC News -- Witnesses say police fired at least 20 rounds at 20-year-old Willie McCoy in a Taco Bell[...]
Gucci sweater resembling racist blackface, $890

Gucci sweater resembling racist blackface, $890

February 14th, 2019

NBC News -- In recent years, clothing brands around the globe have been caught in the public's moral[...]
⚖️ #ThrowbackThursday ⚖️

⚖️ #ThrowbackThursday ⚖️

February 7th, 2019

Cathay Williams (1842-c.1893)     Cathay Williams was the first African-Ameri[...]
21 Savage's legal team says he's not a convicted felon, ICE gave incorrect information

21 Savage's legal team says he's not a convicted felon, ICE gave incorrect information

February 6th, 2019

THE ROOT -- Atlanta-based rapper 21 Savage has a legal dream team, and they say that information[...]

 

Menu

  • Top 100 Lawyers Directory
  • Top 40 Under 40 Directory
  • Legal Education
  • Networking
  • Joining

Contact Us

The National Black Lawyers
925B Peachtree Street NE
Suite 855 
Atlanta, GA 30309
Phone: 877-465-4498
Fax: 334-699-7299

About Us

We’re on a mission to shatter the glass ceiling! Members of the National Black Lawyers get more opportunities to continue their legal education, grow their professional networks and expand their client bases.

Learn more >

Terms of Use >

Privacy Policy >

  • Find A Lawyer
    ▼
    • Top 100 Membership Directory
    • Top 40 Membership Directory
  • Membership
    ▼
    • Top 100 Officers/Executive Committee
    • Top 40 Officers/Executive Committee
    • Joining
    • Member Portal
  • Legal Education
  • Networking
  • News
  • Shop
  • About Us
    ▼
    • Mission
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Contact Us
  • Find A Lawyer
    • Top 100 Membership Directory
    • Top 40 Membership Directory
  • Membership
    • Top 100 Officers/Executive Committee
    • Top 40 Officers/Executive Committee
    • Joining
    • Member Portal
  • Legal Education
  • Networking
  • News
  • Shop
  • About Us
    • Mission
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Contact Us