Cops are typically merely under “color of law,” they are not the law. So merely having the appearance of law, unlike a Sheriff who is the law. They are more like revenue officers, investigating petty infractions such as selling cigarettes on the street. Certainly at some point they have the authority to arrest, but they are just a liable for poor behavior as any citizen when they do, regardless of statute. When a man says he can’t breathe, and you don’t take ANY action to relieve his distress... that YOU are causing... YOU have committed the greater crime. He sold cigarettes, you killed him. This is not Ferguson, it is different. Freepers need to realize that.
I was surprised there was no indictment in this case, but on this point I don't agree with you. Anyone who has watched the TV show "Cops" will tell you that most perpetrators complain of some kind of distress when they are being apprehended ... "The cuffs are too tight," "I can't walk," etc.
Heck -- for all we know, there may have been evidence that Garner himself complained repeatedly like this during all of his previous 30+ arrests, and nothing ever happened to him in those situations.
So that point alone wouldn't be sufficient to warrant a criminal charge against the police, in my opinion.