NYPD Cops Put Pregnant Woman in a Choke Hold Over Grilling In Front of Her House

I am running out of ways to introduce this kind
of story. Were you a cop or a police apologist who thought
Eric Garner should’ve just fucking complied with police if he
wanted to live? Did you think
Jahmiel Cuffee should’ve known better after his first eight
marijuana arrests and done a better job hiding it from cops? Well,
this story involves a pregnant woman, who was put in a chokehold by
New York City cops, because she was grilling in front of her house.

Via the New York Post:

A seven-months pregnant woman released photos on Monday that she
said show an NYPD cop putting her in a chokehold after officers
accused her and her family of illegally grilling on the
sidewalk.

The images, pulled from a cell phone video of the incident,
shows what appears to be an officer with his arm around the throat
of Rosan Miller, 27, as he tried to place her under arrest.

Chokeholds are banned by the NYPD and cops may consider the
maneuver used a “neck
restraint.”

At a press conference earlier today New York City’s mayor,
Democrat Bill De Blasio, said that “the
law is the law” and that the NYPD would continue to strictly
enforce petty laws like the ones that led to this pregnant woman’s
brutal encounter with police and Garner’s.  Bill Bratton, the
city’s police commissioner, added that respecting police and
correcting your behavior when they engage you is what democracy’s
all about.

By no means are the stories of alleged NYPD abuse highlighted
here at Reason a comprehensive account of all the police brutality
that happens in New York City—a lot of these stories never make the
news. I had a friend who claimed years ago local cops beat him up
but because of his criminal record didn’t feel comfortable
complaining.

I’ve had unpleasant encounters with police where I felt my
rights were violated but have been spared being their victim. My
parents, who grew up in Communist Poland, always taught me that
when interacting with police I should be be polite, avoid eye
contact, avoid volunteering information, and attempt to end the
interaction as quickly as possible. This was advice they
accumulated from decades of living under communist rule. Facing
assault, and even death, for failing to comply with authorities,
that’s what totalitarianism was about, not democracy.