A man (Eric Garner) selling single cigarettes (loosies) in NY was stopped by the police because apparently selling cigarettes singly harms the city (or the state, I don't really know or care) by causing a loss in tax revenue from the state sale of cigarettes (that are ridiculously over priced anyway). So, this serious offense warranted a stop by the police who said Garner - who happens to black, which doesn't matter, but totally does - had been caught doing this before.
So, when the man got upset and resisted being arrested by the 20 something year old cop (who thinks he's changing the world by arresting a guy selling cigarettes on the street) he was put in what appears to be a choke-hold until the man said "I Can't Breathe" approximately 11 times, then fell (or was knocked) to the ground and his hands were cuffed behind his back.
There are multiple internet videos online of this incident, but the most astounding one is about 7 minutes long and shows what happens after Eric Garner is on the ground and cuffed. He is not moving. He is not speaking. His breathing appears to be shallow or absent. He appears to be dying.
He is surrounded by multiple police officers (who I have to assume are trained as First Responders) who just watch him and do nothing to help him. An ambulance is called and no officers do anything with the exception of a few putting their fingers on the side of Garner's neck in an apparent attempt to find a pulse and determine if he was still alive or not.
There was no rescue breathing, no defibrillator called for, no attempt at raising his head or uncuffing his hands (having hands cuffed behind your back interferes with breathing). No attempts at anything ... just standing around, waiting for the ambulance. WTF.
Finally, the ambulance arrives. You can see one paramedic (or EMT) standing and doing nothing. Then, a female paramedic (or EMT) is apparently in charge of treating Garner. It appears that she does not count his respirations, does not take his pulse, does not check his oxygen saturation level, does not administer oxygen, does not attempt to put him on a cardiac monitor, does not take his blood pressure, does not demand that his hands be uncuffed from behind his back, does not offer any rescue breaths.
She puts her fingers on the side of neck, (because she apparently can't tell if he's dead or not) then talks to the unconscious man in a way that tells us she thinks he is playing possum or refusing to talk to her ... "Come on now, we're here to help you." A police officer also urged the dying man to answer the paramedic's questions. WTF.
A bystander asked why no one was starting CPR and a police officer responded to him by saying "because he's breathing." This level of stupidity in a police officer is astounding as anyone trained in CPR knows that agonal breathing requires rescue breaths. WTF.
Eric Garner died at the hospital an hour later. He was a married man with six children, 3 grandchildren, and a whole lotta friends and family who loved him.
Sources: Wikipedia