Cigarettes are taxed everywhere, not only in NYC, and everywhere the Mafia or jihadi groups are busy hijacking delivery trucks (sometimes killing the driver) and then selling the stolen or smuggled goods to people like Garner to sell as “tax free,” usually in front of the shop of some Indian convenience store owner who risks his life to work in the hood every day and actually pays all his taxes and fees.
Is the tax too high? Yes, but all taxes are too high in NYC, which is why I no longer live there. So campaign against the tax. But the tax doesn’t justify Garner’s actions.
And collecting it doesn't justify Garner's death.