The Injustice of Justice

Written by Carlo Lutero

On July 17th of this past summer, Eric Garner was an anonymous man. He was standing on the corner of a block with his friend, Ramsey Orta, conversing about where to eat for dinner. Unbeknownst to them, Eric would not be allowed the satisfaction of the meal. A short while after, a fight broke out nearby and Garner instinctively convened and broke up the two adversaries. Thinking his duty was done, Eric stood back and basked in his feeling of accomplishment. This, however, was short lived as two police officers walked up to Eric and began berating him with questions revolving around the accusation of selling a cigarette to a minor. All Eric could do was tell the truth. Suddenly, the officers had enough. One officer took Eric from his blind side and put him into a chokehold for the purpose of, at the time, bringing Eric to the ground in order for him to succumb to his unwarranted arrest. The unmandated job was done with Eric on the ground and cop cars pulling in, but not for the officer that so adamantly held his chokehold on Eric. It took three officers to free him from the other officer’s hands. Ramsey Orta reported to a Time reporter that after the chokehold, Eric was still held tightly as one officer slammed his head on the ground twice before holding his knee on his head, all the while Eric was proclaimed, “I can’t breathe” several times. Ramsey also reports that in that instance, he witnessed Eric’s eyes roll back as his mouth began to foam, and from there on he knew it was over.

On that day, there was one more star to count in the sky, and one more intention to include in our prayers. Grief was not the only emotion people have exercised from this situation, however. Protests broke out in opposition to Eric’s death and his killer’s verdict, and they have continued to this day. These can also be seen throughout the universe of social media, which is a major influence on the worldwide populace, especially the younger generations. The posts of verbal protests and technological riots have had quite an influence on teenager perspective on both race relations and the police. One mere situation like this can be so heartfelt, and the increase in cases of the same injustice can be devastating and infuriating at the same time. What the people do not know is that 98% of other police-based situations do not kill innocent, racially-profiled people. Sometimes, cops even give their own lives in trying to aid the greater good, but these sacrifices are unfortunately eclipsed by the very few instances in which people are unjustly accused and killed. Hence, the injustice of America’s justice.