On August 9th, the death of an 18-year-old boy, Michael Brown, brought widespread attention to the state of policing in America. One month before, Eric Garner said “I can’t breathe” eleven times before his death, and the non-indictment of the officer responsible for this death shattered, for many, what was left of America’s faith in law officials and the justice system.

But these are not the only incidents, and many of the names of African American boys, girls, men and women who have been killed because of their race have been forgotten or ignored.

Eric Garner, Antonio Martin, Tamir Rice–the list goes on and on, and what ties these deaths and crimes together is that all of their deaths came at the hands of a police officer.

On July 17th, Officer Daniel Pantaleo of the NYPD approached a 43-year old man named Eric Garner and accused him of selling untaxed cigarettes. When Garner told the police not to touch him, raising his hands and backing away, Pantaleo grabbed him by the neck and held him in a chokehold, killing him.

Garner’s last words are the well remembered, “I can’t breathe.” Although the chokehold used is illegal, Officer Pantaleo was not indicted. Claiming that Garner had a history of selling so-called “loosies,” and had actually been arrested for it in the past, Officer Pantaleo was only put on modified assignment and stripped of his shield and gun. The entire confrontation and killing was filmed, showing exactly what was said and how, a fact that is one of the main causes of outrage over the indictment decision.

Michael Brown and Dorian Johnson were walking in the middle of the street when Officer Darren Wilson confronted them. According to Wilson’s testimony, Brown fit the description of a figure shown in security footage stealing cigarettes.

What happened next is still unclear; Wilson claims that as he asked Brown to come closer, Brown attacked him. The officer replied by shooting the 18-year-old multiple times.

It was obvious to everyone that Wilson would not be indicted because, as stated above, there was too much discrepancy and not enough evidence. However, in the Garner case, there was evidence. There was a video of everything that had happened. And still Officer Dan Pantaleo was not indicted. Why? 

The two cases are very similar: both Brown and Garner were African American males confronted by police and suspected of committing minor crimes that somehow resulted in violent deaths. Both incited a huge media response and large protests throughout the world. In both cases, the bodies were left on the street, and the wounds or injuries (more specifically, in Garner’s case, as he was actually still alive for some time after the choking) were not tended to. In both cases, someone was killed by a police officer when it seemed to everyone else that there was no actual reason for their death. While Brown allegedly attacked Wilson, many [white] criminals have “attacked” police officers, and lived.

After Michael Brown was shot and killed, many Americans began to question whether or not law officials can be trusted, especially with possessing and using guns and other weapons. Many wondered whether it might help to put cameras on officers, as several European countries have tried this and found that it works quite well. However, Eric Garner’s death is evidence that even a camera cannot stop these deaths from happening. There was a camera on Daniel Pantaleo the entire time, and he didn’t seem to hesitate before holding Garner in a chokehold. Furthermore, the video didn’t ensure the indictment of Pantaleo.

If cameras are not a good solution, then what is? On November 22nd, a 12-year old boy was shot and killed for holding a toy gun. John Crawford was killed in a Wal-Mart on August 4th while holding a pellet gun he had found on a shelf. VonDerrit Myers was shot at least 17 times only two months after Brown, and 14-year old Cameron Tillman, a name forgotten by many as soon as the media stopped focusing on him, opened the door of an abandoned house he had entered and was shot and killed immediately, as told by NY Daily News. On August 9th,an 18-year old African American boy was shot and left in the street for 4 hours. And on July 17th, a 43-year old African American man was killed in an illegal chokehold in front of his family. He couldn’t breathe.