A difference of degree, not kind.
The cops were there because the guy was trying to make a buck off of people who DON’T think paying confiscatory taxes is fair.
Was Garner behaving in an illegal manner? Yes.
Should he have complied? Absolutely.
I just think when one “widens the scope” just a little, it is clear we wouldn’t have had this situation if it weren’t for the greedy hand of government.
I am just willing to bet someone in NYC was being robbed, raped, or murdered at the exact time that group of cops were stopping Garner from selling his tax free smokes.