Reps Call On DOJ To Investigate Garner Death, Blast 'Broken Windows'

Six members of the state congressional delegation are demanding the United States Justice Department initiate a formal, thorough and transparent investigation into the death of 43-year-old Eric Garner, who was killed by an apparent chokehold administered by an New York Police Department officer as he was being arrested for selling loose cigarettes.

“The killing of Eric Garner was a tragedy that demonstrates a fundamental flaw in the policing that exists in New York City today,” Rep. Yvette Clarke said at a rally with fellow Reps. Hakeem Jeffries and Gregory Meeks.

The Congress members also pointed to the recent police-related death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and the chokehold of seven-months pregnant Brooklyn resident Rosan Miller by police as further evidence that the Justice Department should get involved in the Garner case.

“There were a lot of things that took place that the federal government could look at,” Meeks said. “Not only about the illegal chokehold that took place but the fact that there were too many individuals just standing around while it was taking place. No one intervened – not anyone.”

The lawmakers also blasted the police department’s “broken windows” policy touted by Commissioner William Bratton, suggesting that it disproportionately targets black and Hispanic communities and is therefore akin to racial profiling. 

Clarke characterized broken windows as a “cousin to stop-and-frisk,” adding that the culture of the NYPD has led to “the persistent violation of regulations that continue the use of the chokehold which has [been] prohibited for more than 20 years now.”

Jeffries criticized the state’s court system, citing past deaths involving men and women of color like Eleanor Bumpers, Amadou Diallo and Sean Bell, all of whom were shot by police, sometimes repeatedly. The officers held accountable were later acquitted.

Jeffries also said there was a deliberate focus by police officers on communities where people of color congregate.

“There is a disproportionate amount of police resources focused on pursuing this broken windows policy on nickel-and-dime, low-level violations leading to the criminalization of young men of color in a way that’s unfair, unjust and undemocratic,” Jeffries said.

Clarke added, “The concept of treating minor infractions as a stepping stone to felonious behavior contributed to the unabated mass incarcerating of thousands of African Americans and Latinos, often for minor offenses.” 

“We have institutionalized the idea that African Americans and Latinos are inherently suspicious based entirely on the color of their skin,” she said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has defended Bratton in recent days against reports about the police commissioner’s potential firing – calling the idea “idiotic.” At the press conference, the Congress members did not openly call for Bratton’s resignation, instead emphasizing a need for structural changes at the NYPD.

Commissioner Bratton, during an appearance on The Brian Lehrer Show on Tuesday, told New Yorkers to “[avoid] drawing the attention of the police” by simply obeying the law and not resisting arrest.