Two Deaths By NYPD Ruled Homicides

The death of Eric Garner, put in a chokehold by a New York City police officer, and that of Ronald Singleton, who died in custody four days before Garner, have been ruled homicides by the New York City Medical examiner.

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In a statement released by the Medical Examiner on Friday, it said that Ronald Singleton, a 45-year-old black man who had been reportedly high on PCP when he was alerted to police by a taxi driver, was put into a forcible restraint by the NYPD on July 13. Singleton had been acting erratically when the police came to the scene…

Emergency officials put Singleton in a protective body wrap as he was on his way to the hospital, at which point he suffered a heart attack, and was dead on arrival at Roosevelt Hospital. The medical examiner noted that Singleton’s obesity as well as hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease could have contributed to his death. The ruling was ultimately that his death was a homicide..

Though no disciplinary action has been taken against police officers involved in the death of Ronald Singleton, “the Staten Island district attorney, Daniel M. Donovan Jr., has said he would call a special grand jury that could bring charges against the officer who dragged Mr. Garner to the ground,” the New York Times reports. [su_sky_ad]

D.B. Hirsch

D.B. Hirsch is a political activist, news junkie, and retired ad copy writer and spin doctor. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.