That's what trials are for.

Grand Juries are not triers of fact, and while this information may be presented it shouldn't have prevented charges from being filed, IMO.

Last edited Sat Dec 13, 2014, 11:03 PM - Edit history (1)

for the future....police should always assume there is a potential breathing problem when they have an obese person laying on the ground. Vibes to the family. Very strange that the grand jury didn't indict when the coroner said it was homicide.

And WTH that the person who recorded it is being charged????

The guy spent his last dying breath telling he couldn't breathe. What they ought to put "into the mix" is the fact that when people say they can't breathe they better back the fuck off.

fat follows gravity and presses against your lungs, which it doesn't do if you are on your side, stomach or sitting or standing.

But when Eric said he couldn't breathe they didn't stop choking the life out of him. If they would have backed the fuck off things might have been different. I guess the odds on 6 cops against 1 big scary black man wasn't good enough for them.

a good police force trains for this stuff. A good police force knows obese people are more likely to die of suffocation. A good police force knows how to deal with a diabetic having a hypoglycemic episode. A good police force knows how to deal with an untreated schizophrenic in a break. A good police force knows how to deal with a dementia patient who is lost and confused.

Sadly, there aren't very many good police forces left anymore. They are populated with scared shitless bullies.

as with most all others...it would be in your best interest to submit and obey a LEO's directions if you are being detained or arrested. Resisting arrest is always a bad idea.

Perhaps the cop shouldn't have used the choke hold.

When someone has an arm around your neck, CHOKING YOU, you will panic and lash out. That is almost certainly a given. When you think you are being murdered, getting out of it is all you can think of.

Get off your fucking high horse.

Fucking authoritarian.

He needed to submit and obey instructions he could not hear and had no time to comply with.

If only he'd done what they told him before they told him, he might still be alive.

It can be helpful. I highly recommend it if you are able to see a doctor.

...They do which is why they like to get your adrenaline and heart rate up before they suffocate you to death like Kelly Thomas and many others.

They want you to be extremely scared and suffer greatly before they kill you.

Oh, you think they give a shit about your weight? The unhealthier you are and the weaker you are, they more they will make you suffer. My advice, don't tell these psychos that you have asthma or a hearth condition.

Welcome to America

Some people can carry excess body weight and breath normally. I'm not one of them.

that an obese person could be at special risk.

Police wouldn't need to know that, though, if they just followed the ban.

That's a good time to STOP choking them.

Add in his asthma, and you have the homicide the corner declared it. He could have been saved if they'd have taken him seriously and addressed the medical issues he was having. Which is the angle a DA who was trying to get a charge to stick would have pursued, IMO.

I get what you're saying though, the police should be better trained and know how to react to each individual situation, rather than look at every person as an enemy they have to take down. I lost someone who was diabetic because the police were inept in realizing their actions were due to their disease, this case reminds me of it a lot. They're supposed to be there to keep us safe from crime, not kill us for minor infractions, or because we're scaring them by acting odd. They need to refocus again on the serve and protect part of their job description and stop being enforcers.

I've got a really bad back and knees. I'm very petite (5'0&quot and look younger than my 58 years. I can walk and move very well upright but no way could I get down on the pavement. I could see some cop telling me to get down thinking I'm young and healthy.