The NYPD’s approval ratings have reportedly taken a strong hit in the wake of Eric Garner’s death, a new Quinipiac poll shows.
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The poll found that the department’s approval rating has dropped 50 percent: 42 percent of New Yorkers disapprove of how the NYPD is doing its job. The disapproval number has risen from 32 percent in June, just before the Staten Island father died in a confrontation with officers.
Sixty-eight percent of New Yorkers said the NYPD went too far in how they handled him. Only 24 percent agreed with their methods.
But opinions were split along racial lines: While 90 percent of Black New Yorkers said the officers acted inexcusably, only 37 to 52 percent of White New Yorkers agreed with that sentiment.
Republicans were the only group who backed the officers fully.
Sixty-four percent of people surveyed said the officers need to face criminal charges.
Lastly, 74 percent of responders called police brutality a “very serious” or “somewhat serious” issue. Sixty-three percent agreed that cops are harder on Blacks than Whites.
“City voters think there is no excuse for his death. White and Black voters overwhelmingly think there should be criminal charges against the officer involved,” said Maurice Carroll, the Quinipiac Poll’s assistant director, about the findings.
However, many residents do support the “Broken Windows” strategy: Sixty percent of people back the quality- of-life initiative that says making arrests for small crimes prevents larger ones down the line. Only 34 percent disapprove of the controversial policy.
Fifty-six percent of people said such arrests improve neighborhoods, but 35 percent say it only adds tension to neighborhoods.
On July 17th in Staten Island, Garner was put in a chokehold by police officer Daniel Pantaleo, causing his untimely death. Friend of Garner Ramsey Orta took video of Garner’s struggle and last moments with the policemen. On August 1st, the medical examiner ruled that Garner’s death was indeed a “homicide.”
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SOURCE: NewsOne.com
Article and Picture Courtesy of News One
