This is a straw man argument being used by O’Reilly and Fox talking heads too, allowing them to appear moderate, while insinuating that conservatives are on the side of the cop. I dont know any conservative who believes what the cop did was appropriate. Maybe some ex cops on Fox but that’s it.
Most on the right think it is an issue of police overreach and the unintended consequences of big government (high taxed cigs). But it’s been hijacked by the race hustlers so its become an issue of racism. And conservatives are on the sidelines now basically watching the clown show led by Obama and Sharpton.
I’ve defended the cops. I think they’re in an incredibly tough situation in the big liberal cities — caught between the bonehead nanny government and its brood of lawless citizens. I think it’s a state of affairs that makes Garner type situations more or less inevitable. Frequent disrespect and resistance towards the police means the police use force more often, which the raises the odds of this sort of thing happening. Garner’s death was unintentional and had nothing to do with racism, yet it can certainly be traced to “structural” factors — namely structural liberalism.