If he was cooperating why would it take more than one?
While I have no specific knowledge of police procedure, but of military tactics, a patrol of 4 on an enforcement crackdown, over a large area, makes sense.
We're not talking military tactics. We're talking about policing a quiet neighborhood, and arresting a man for what was almost certainly a misdemeanor. Would they send 10 cops for a jaywalker?
The man’s death is tragic, and I will assume the officers had no intent to kill him.
The justice system is full of people who had no intent of killing someone but who, by their actions, caused the death of another person. And almost all of them will face a jury. But not cops.
The Grand Jury didn’t think there was enough to go to trial. End of story.
Because cops can get away with murder. Literally.
It takes one to cuff him, and one to watch his partner’s back. This was not a “quiet” neighborhood, as the police had been called there many times for any number of crimes.
The cops weren’t just looking for Garner, they were are a larger mission. He just happened to be one person they encountered that day. And yes, he was an 30-time repeat offender. The cops weren’t radioed to the scene, that is difference in your jaywalking analogy.
Many people everyday use a firearm, lethally, and don’t even see a grand jury, much less a jury trial. Pick up a copy of any recent NRA magazine, and the front section has to do with guns being used to prevent crime, including killing bad guys.
Murder isn’t homicide, isn’t self-defense, isn’t manslaughter. In this case, the grand jury was responsible to either send up an indictment or not. They chose not to.
Despite what the press says, he didn’t use a “chokehold,” which was banned by the NYPD, but used a lawful take down method taught at the police academy. He didn’t strangle him, he brought the man down and they sat on him.
If you can’t breathe, you can’t say “I can’t breathe.” If you watch the video from the NYPost, he is on the ground for over 4 minutes, with no one on him. When EMS gets there, he says he can’t breathe. Clearly, he isn’t being suffocated, strangled, or in a chokehold.