More Riots Coming?

[Mountain Man]

One thing I notice is that the officer that they show in the photos as being charged with using the chokehold was not the one who did. He was the one who was grabbing his arm when another cop came up behind him and did the choke hold.


I really think a law against selling loosies is dumb. If I buy something, I am allowed to sell it, right? The state gets their taxes when he bought the packs at the store. And it wasn't like he was setting up a business enterprise. He was making a few extra bucks selling cigarettes one at a time. As long as he was not selling them to minors, I don't see the problem. If someone wanted a bunch of cigs, they would just go buy a pack at the store so this wasn't some big money making scheme.

It's more complicated than that. As I understand it, "loosie" sales are part of an organized crime ring where they use stolen credit card information to buy cigarettes in bulk in other states then sell them in New York City at a loss, but since they bought them with stolen funds, it's clear and free profit for the criminals.

[Mountain Man]

But using a chokehold, which the video shows clearly did happen, is illegal, and while his poor health may have been contributing factors, it seems from the M.E's report that the chokehold initiated it.

The chokehold is not illegal, it's just banned by the New York City police department. There's actually no law against using that takedown maneuver (although there probably will be one now), and there's even some dispute if it actually was a chokehold or if it was the "sleeper" hold which doesn't restrict the windpipe but suppresses blood flow to the brain causing the suspect to briefly pass out. The fact that the man repeatedly yelled, "I can't breath!" suggests that he could, in fact, breath. You try yelling something repeatedly if you're actually being choked.

[One Bad Pig]

New York, along with the rest of the nation, should be cutting expenditures not trying to collect more and more taxes.

I think at least part of the rationale for the high tax rate is to make smoking prohibitively expensive so people are less likely to do it.

[Bill the Cat]

I am with CP on this one. The nanny state mindset is the real danger here. Smoking is dumb, but you can never outlaw stupidity.

It is what it is. Foolishly high taxes aren't the real issue here. It's the crime element that exploits the tax issue. The anti-smuggling laws are to combat those, not the poorly instituted taxes.

[Bill the Cat]

New York, along with the rest of the nation, should be cutting expenditures not trying to collect more and more taxes.

Should is the opportune word...