In fairness to the NYPD, it can hardly be denied that the cigarettes the man was unlawfully selling might have caused them cancer by secondhand smoke, thereby presenting an imminent threat that required an immediate resort to the use of lethal force to stop him:
A man has died during an arrest in New York during which a police officer was captured on an amateur camera appearing to put his arm around his neck. Eric Garner, 43, died outside a beauty salon in Staten Island, one of New York City’s five boroughs. He had a heart attack as he struggled with officers trying to arrest him on suspicion of selling untaxed cigarettes, police said.
Partial video of the confrontation obtained by the New York Daily News shows an officer placing what appears to be a choke hold on the 6ft 3, 25st man who can be heard complaining that he cannot breathe.
Four police officers help bring the man down and he apparently loses conciousness. The video shows the officer who apparently choked Mr Garner using his hands to push Mr Garner’s face into the sidewalk.
What are the chances that any of these killer cops lose their jobs or serve a single day in prison for killing a man for cigarettes? Is there a negative probability math to calculate degrees of certainty concerning a non-event not happening?