We Can't Breathe

Eric Garner’s death at the hands of New York City Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo was unnecessary and tragic. That Pantaleo managed to avoid indictment by a Staten Island grand jury is further indication that the American criminal justice system still deals inadequately with police violence in communities of color. Since the day the grand jury made its troubling decision, demonstrations have taken place at Harvard, across the country, and even around the world.

These protests have shown the world that enough is truly enough. The rights of minorities, particularly people of color, have been trampled on for too long.

While the demonstrators rightly continue to keep the issue in the spotlight, raising awareness cannot be the only goal. Certainly, the ignorant backlash against protesters from several commentators indicates that many Americans are still not aware of the racial disparities that exist in countless facets of American life. At the same time, however, the severity of the Garner incident shows the need for meaningful policy changes, and soon.

Although the existence of a video documenting the entire incident did not secure an indictment in the Garner case, we stand by our previous statement in favor of requiring police to wear cameras on their person. Body-worn cameras have demonstrated their use as a prophylactic measure that decreases instances of police brutality and of civilian complaints.

Cameras are certainly not the entire solution to this problem, and they must be accompanied by strict regulations regarding when officers are allowed to turn them off. However, combined with a battery of other measures, President Obama’s initiative to equip police with body-worn cameras is a step, if a small one, in the right direction.

To effect lasting change, the energy of the current demonstrations must also make it to the ballot box. Young voters and voters of color have had unfortunately low turnouts in the past several elections, most notably in the recent midterm election. According to a Pew study done days before the election, over a third of non-voters are under the age of 30 and about 43 percent are people of color. Too much of the current political discourse centers around restrictive measures, like voter identification laws, that will make it harder for minorities to make their voices heard. For lasting change in police-community relations, however, the young people and people of color must vote.

While significant, policy changes can only address symptoms of the United States’ wider issues with race. Beyond issues of police procedure, the Eric Garner case and countless others like it are about racism in America, and must be recognized as such.

Racism is certainly not limited to police forces, but racism perpetuated by the government is particularly heinous. As Max Weber famously put it, the government “claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force.” In a democracy, the government must use that monopoly sparingly and equitably if it is to maintain its political legitimacy. When police abuse their power by taking a heavy-handed approach to protesters speaking out against institutional racism, they further harm their own credibility and lend credence to the view that they represent an antagonistic force in many communities.

We should be able to expect better from our police forces. We should be able to expect better from our government. We should expect better from all Americans, who continue to ignore the deadly role racism plays in American society. Garner’s death must not be forgotten. Enough is enough.