It's been several months since we first saw the heartbreaking video of husband and father, Eric Garner being slowly killed on a summer day by police. Ramsey Orta, the young man who videotaped the killing of Eric Garner by police on a Staten Island street last summer, ironically is the only one who was jailed surrounding that case. The grand jury wouldn't indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo who had also been under probe for his policing tactics against black men on Staten Island. And it should also be noted that the police arrested Mr. Orta's wife not a week after the video was released in an effort to relay to the community that if you video anything of what we do, we will come after you and your family. It's an intimidation tactic in spite of the fact that cameras are ubiquitious and even 8 year olds with cell phones can shoot video whenever they want.
We all remember the aftermath of the daily protests and die-ins back in December. The tragic killing of 2 officers in their patrol car on a Brooklyn street during the holidays and the political fight with Mayor DeBlasio and PBA union head, Kevin Lynch. Quickly, the shouts for justice from protestors and the cries for police reform were all muted and the media's attention on the players in the initial incident fell away. But months later we should all ask about the man who silently filmed the tragic video that still gives me chills and feels like a snuff film whenever I think about it.
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