Yes, cops don’t make the laws, but they are charged with enforcing them. This was not Mr. Garner’s first rodeo with the justice system. He was what is called a frequent law enforcement consumer. He should have been quite familiar with the process.
People being restrained by cops frequently yell and holler than they can’t breather, are being hurt, having a heart attack, etc. in an attempt to get the cops to let go. The cops had no idea Garner was asthmatic, and he didn’t die there. He died at the hospital. Might as well blame the doctors.
I don’t blame the doctors and if you look through my posts I certainly don’t blame the cops. In the end this comes back on Garner himself.
My point is and has been that the behaviors that led to his interaction with the law in the first place should never have been criminalized. There are limits to what ought to be criminalized, for reasons that have already been gone over pretty comprehensively.