WASHINGTON -- Opinions on the decision reached by a grand jury last week not to indict the police officer who killed 18-year-old Michael Brown largely broke down along partisan lines, with many conservatives agreeing that Darren Wilson should not have faced a trial. But another grand jury's decision not to indict a New York City police officer who placed 43-year-old Eric Garner into a chokehold, resulting in his death, seems to be playing out much differently so far.
The fact that Garner's death was captured on video and that Officer Daniel Pantaleo used a chokehold tactic that has been banned by the New York City Police Department seem to be key factors for many on the right who believe the officer should have been indicted.
"The grand jury's decision not to bring any charges against the officer who killed Garner is inexplicable. It defies reason. It makes no sense," wrote Sean Davis at The Federalist. "Unlike the Michael Brown case, we don't have to rely on shaky and unreliable testimony from so-called eyewitnesses. We don't need to review bullet trajectories or forensics. All we have to do is watch the video and believe our own eyes."
"This is one of those moments where left and right could unite. Few seem comfortable with this outcome," Noah Rothman of HotAir.com wrote on Twitter. He elaborated in a post on the website.
"Here’s hoping that something constructive comes from this horrible incident in which there are no heroes," he wrote. "Unless aggrieved partisans start valuing reform and compromise over point-scoring, it will be next to impossible for anything other than stasis and mistrust to arise out of this regrettable event."
Leon H. Wolf on RedState.com wrote: "This decision is really and truly baffling to me, and infuriating besides. I understand the vast majority of cops are good at their jobs and conscientious about protecting the civil rights of citizens. But there are without a doubt bad cops who make bad decisions and when they do so from a position of authority the damage they can do is exponentially worse."
Fox News syndicated columnist and contributor Charles Krauthammer said the grand jury’s decision to not indict was "totally incomprehensible."
"I think anybody who looks at the video would think this was the wrong judgment," Krauthammer said. "The problem is in our system, you don’t have double jeopardy," adding, "If a grand jury makes a mistake, that the way it is."
Many reactions from other prominent conservatives were rounded up on HotAir.com.
"I don't like Eric Holder, and in general don't approve of Feds doubling up, but the Eric Garner case merits it," tweeted Ken White, a libertarian. "This needs a U.S. Attorney."
"Seriously, can you imagine what Sam Fucking Adams would have said at the news that a man had been killed over cigarette taxes," Charles C.W. Cooke of the National Review posted on Twitter.