Black Lives Matter Is More Important Than Ever Now

The decision by the New York Police Department to fire the police officer blamed for the choking of Eric Garner marked a troubling end to the five-year search for justice for the man whose death sparked Black Lives Matter protests. A police department trial found that the officer, Daniel Pantaleo, had not been truthful when he said he had not used a chokehold on Garner. Because both New York state and federal prosecutors declined to bring criminal charges against the officer, and the city settled a civil suit by Garner’s heirs, this is the only “day in court” Garner’s legacy will ever receive.

All in all, this outcome shows how important the Black Lives Matter movement remains. The legal system is primarily designed to look backward and assign blame for particular, individual events. Even at that task it performs imperfectly. But the legal system is truly terrible at forward-looking transformation of institutions like police departments. For that you need political will and new cultural attitudes, not courts. In other words, transformative change requires a social movement, not a judicial verdict.