Posted on 12/24/2014 11:07:35 AM PST by Starman417
This is Philip Banks. Until recently he was the Chief of Department in the NYPD, the highest ranking black police office in the NYPD.
Philip Banks set into motion the events that led to Garner’s death:
An order to crack down on the illegal sale of 75-cent cigarettes in Staten Island came directly from Police Headquarters, setting off a chain of events that ended in Eric Garner’s death, the Daily News has learned.Chief of Department Philip Banks — the highest-ranking uniformed cop in the city — sent a sergeant from his office at 1 Police Plaza in July to investigate complaints of untaxed cigarettes being sold in the Tompkinsville neighborhood, a source close to the investigation told The News.
“(Banks) set the whole thing in motion,” the source said.
The sale of loosies had been on Banks’ radar since at least March, when it was discussed at a meeting at Police Headquarters about quality-of-life issues, a police source said.
Banks’ office also conducted surveillance on Bay St. and took pictures, one of which shows three men believed to be involved in an illegal cigarette sale. The News reviewed the photograph and Garner is not in it.
At around the same time, on March 27, a caller to the city’s 311 hotline complained about the issue, saying a group of men had been selling untaxed cigarettes, and sometimes marijuana, on Bay St. every day for the past three years, a second source said.
The caller identified one of the sellers as “a man named Eric.”
Police focusing on low-level offenses was nothing out of the ordinary:
“That particular area of the 120th Precinct has been the subject of numerous quality-of-life complaints and enforcement actions for months,” Davis said. “Among the specific public complaints of illegal activity in that area included the sale of untaxed cigarettes as well as open (alcohol) container and marijuana use and sale offenses.”A high-ranking police official agreed.
Garner had been arrested repeatedly for same offense, and pay close attention here:
But the 311 tip made its way to Banks’ office where “the untaxed cigarette problem on Bay St.” was discussed, a source said. A day after the 311 call was made, cops arrested Garner for selling cigarettes without proper tax stamps.Cops found him in possession of 23 sealed packs of untaxed cigarettes and one open pack, officials said. He was arrested with untaxed cigarettes again on May 7, officials said.
Then, a week before his death, Garner was “warned and admonished” about selling untaxed cigarettes, a police source said.
After Garner's death Banks remained silent:
Banks sent a sergeant from his office in July to investigate complaints about the sale of illegal cigarettes in Staten Island. A tipster had complained about a group of men, one named Eric, selling untaxed cigarettes. Cops eventually confronted Eric Garner. Banks has yet to speak about the confrontation.
Then on October 31, one week before he was to receive a major promotion, Philip Banks resigned:
(Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net...
The wages of (sin)tax is death.
The supervising sergeant was a black female, as well.
Why did he resign?
Somewhat off topic, but this is one of many articles that I’ve seen, that pegs the price of “loosies” at 75 cents. Seems to me, for an illegal transaction on the street, all that change would be unwieldy. Wouldn’t an even $1.00 be more practical? Anybody have any experience, in this regard? Thanks.
Which came directly from Bill DeBlasio who then proceeded to shift all the blame to the police when an obese suspect with a heart condition and asthma resisted arrest and had a heart attack and died in the process. So what people should be protesting is the fact that you should never vote for a liberal because nothing is more important to a liberal than taxes. Do I even have to guess he still has cops out there busting people?
"Hey Mac, you got a spare cigarette? I'll give you 75 cents being that a pack costs a fortune thanks to liberals taxing the piss out of them"
"Yeah here you go"
Then four police rush over and bust him. Wow, the city is saved from this massive tax fraud!
This is the type of investigative reporting FR is good at publishing
Thanx floppingaces for putting this together
OUR job has always been to weed out and not allow in any more ... embeds that screw up the works.
I wonder what was missing in the chief's life that he thought he had to actually invent a crime that he could pursue ?
Or perhaps it just is .... a mental disorder.
Of all the crimes that go unpunished every day the focus is on the sale of loose cigarettes because of no tax being collected? While at the same time Al Sharpton makes millions but does not pay a dime of the millions he owes in taxes.
Vary rarely is one cigarette is sold at a time and sellers always keep change for the paper money buyers(or a least that was the case in certain high school bathrooms many years ago).
Do I hear 3 for $2
I think it has something to do with the target demographic. Kids. I'm 57, but when I was a kid the Ice Cream man sold them for 10 cents. Inflation, I suppose.
I would say the actions of the chief led to Garner’s ARREST.
Garner’s actions led to his own death.
City made 75 cents in saved tax revenue. Wonder what they’ll spend it on.
sellers always keep change
Do I hear 3 for $2
The nanny state of New York places a $4.35/pack tax on cigarettes. The revenue plus the concern for peoples health is the stated reason for the inordinate tax on a legal product.
So it's the feel good busybodies that set the stage for this man's death.
I’m 57, but when I was a kid the Ice Cream man sold them for 10 cents.
Smuggling untaxed cigarettes to New York is a major source of funding for Hamas and other terrorist groups. Vendors like Garner have to get their loosies from someone and that someone is almost always organized crime of some sort; domestic or terrorist....The issue goes way beyond tax revenue alone.
Corruption extends upward and downward along the chain of command as long as you have laws on the books which cannot be equitably enforced.
Chances are good that you and I are breaking some law or another right this moment, on Christmas Eve. But we will skate for now because the police can't do 24/7 surveillance of our homes and offices--yet.
Weighed on a risk/reward scale, selling untaxed cigarettes on a street in NYC is somewhere in the middle. Lower than selling dope, I'm sure, but higher than flipping burgers at McDonald's. Get caught selling loosies and the punishment is light, so you set up on another corner once you get out or pay the fine.
It's not that the law or the police are intrinsically anti-black. It's more that New Yorkers most likely to risk being snagged in it are those on the edge of poverty, struggling to feed their family, and blacks make up a disproportionate percentage of that group.
I could, right now, set up a shop on a New York City sidewalk and sell things, without paying rent, due to a post Civil War law. However, that would mean I’d have to live & work in New York City.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.