The tragic killings of police officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu led some NYPD cops to turn their backs – literally – on New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Police are reportedly in a work stoppage over what one NYPD leader called a “hostile antipolice environment” after months of Eric Garner and Michael Brown protests. AJ+ pens an open letter asking: Is there a better way forward?
Ferguson sparked a new national movement that’s sweeping across the U.S. And it’s young people leading the charge. They’re demanding the end to what they see as systemic racism in law enforcement that targets black people. Alicia Garza, co-founder of #BlackLivesMatter, tells Dena Takruri who these activists are and the tactics they’re using to get what they want.
Another police officer who killed an unarmed black man will not be charged. This time it’s NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo, who killed #EricGarner with a chokehold in July 2014. This, just a week after a Ferguson grand jury chose not to indict Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown. The question on everyone’s minds is why does this keep happening?
From Michael Brown to Renisha McBride to Jordan Davis: how murdered black people are portrayed in the media — and the courtroom — has often led to outrage. And after the deaths of Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin and Eric Garner, the hashtags #IfTheyGunnedMeDown, #APHeadlines and #DangerousBlackKids are one way people have flipped the script.
Eric Garner, an unarmed African-American man, died after NYPD officers put him in an apparent choke hold on July 17, 2014. Video of the incident has gone viral, sparking outrage over yet another incident of police brutality against a person of color. People have used #EricGarner, #JusticeForEricGarner and #RIPEricGarner.
Dena Takruri 