CBC Members React to Grand Jury Decision in Eric Garner Case
Black lawmakers are hurt and angry.
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A Miscarriage of Justice - It is a sad commentary on the state of race relations in America that members of the Congressional Black Caucus were in large part not surprised that a New York City grand jury declined to indict the police officers involved in the chokehold death of Eric Garner. The decision is "a miscarriage of justice, it's an outrage, it's a disgrace, it is a blow to our democracy, and it should shock the conscience of every single American who cares about justice and fair play," said New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, echoing sentiments shared by other lawmakers on Capitol Hill. —Joyce Jones (@BETpolitichick) (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images) –
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Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland) - "It's extremely alarming to me. Unlike Ferguson, in this situation everybody in the world had a chance to see what happened. How do you lose your life over selling loose cigarettes? I know for a fact that this is going to cause people to continue to take these incidents and take them from a moment to a movement that's going to last for a very long time. It is very important that the Congressional Black Caucus be a significant part of that movement. We cannot allow our sons, young people, fathers, brothers to be slain like this and we don't have the right to remain silent." (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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Rep. Karen Bass (D-California) - "Many police departments around the country have banned chokeholds. This officer should have known better and should be held accountable. Our laws are nothing but words on a piece of paper if law enforcement officers can ignore them and kill people with impunity. We are a nation of laws, and law enforcement officers take an oath to take a higher standard. At a minimum, laws need to be applied equally to both law enforcement officers and civilians alike." (Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images)
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Rep. Charles Rangel (D-New York) - "It’s important that the district attorney has an obligation to bring the facts to New Yorkers and the American people to see how they could have possibly stretched the imagination to reach that decision. And more important, to find out what side was the district attorney on. Was he seeking truth and justice in terms of the homicide, or was he there to protect [the police officers]?" (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Mississippi) - "It kind of brings into question whether body cameras will make any difference. The whole incident was on camera but if prosecutors mishandled the presentation of the charges to the grand jury, you come up with no indictment. Given what's happened in Ferguson and the tenor of where I see a lot of people in this country, I'm not surprised [by the decision]." (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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