Poll: Americans Back Charges in Eric Garner Death
Susan Page, USA TODAY 4:35 p.m. EST
December 8, 2014
WASHINGTON – Americans by nearly 3-1 say the white police officer responsible for the death of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man being arrested for selling cigarettes, should have faced charges from a Staten Island grand jury, a nationwide USA TODAY/Pew Research Center poll finds.
Nearly nine of 10 also say it would be a good idea for more police officers to wear body cameras to record their interactions.
It was a cellphone video of a police officer holding Garner in what appeared to be a chokehold – even as he gasped "I can't breathe" – that apparently galvanized public opinion. By 57%-22%, those surveyed say the grand jury made the wrong decision in not bringing charges against New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo.
In contrast, by 50%-37% they say a grand jury in Ferguson, Mo., made the right decision in deciding not to charge officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown. In that case, a white policeman shot an unarmed African American teenager, but accounts of how the incident unfolded are in dispute.
The telephone survey of 1,507 adults, taken Wednesday through Sunday, has a margin of error of 3 percentage points. Questions about the Eric Garner grand jury, which released its decision Wednesday, were asked of 1,114 respondents; the margin of error is also 3 percentage points.
The results spotlight a sharp divide in public opinion between blacks and whites, especially over whether race was a factor in the decisions not to bring indictments in the two cases.
In both cases, blacks overwhelmingly say the grand juries erred in not bringing charges – 80% in the Michael Brown case, 90% in the Eric Garner case. But among whites, views changed between the cases: Two-thirds say the grand jury made the right decision on Michael Brown. By 47%-28%, they say the grand jury made the wrong decision on Eric Garner.
• In both cases, nearly two-thirds of blacks say race played a major factor in the decisions not to charge the police officers. But only about one in six whites call race a major factor. By big margins, whites say race was not a factor at all.
• In another demographic divide, young people under 30 are much more likely than older Americans to say charges should have been brought in the two cases. People under 50 are more likely than those 65 and older to say race was a factor in the grand juries' decisions.
The two cases have fueled protests from New York to California over police treatment of blacks and stoked a debate over the state of race relations in the United States.
Americans are inclined to think that race relations between local police forces and minorities across the country will get worse rather than better over the next year, 35%-21%. About four in 10 expect them to stay about the same.
But opinions about that vary widely by race, too. More than half of blacks predict race relations will worsen, compared with just a third of whites and one-fourth of Hispanics.
After Eric Garner died from being put in a chokehold by an NYPD officer, many people began questioning police tactics. What exactly happens when someone is put in a chokehold and why do many police departments discourage using them? VPC
Assessments on how President Obama, the first African American elected to the White House, is handling race relations have soured a bit. In a poll in August, before the two police incidents, Americans approved of how he was doing on race issues, 48%-42%. Now his disapproval rating on that issue has jumped by 10 points, to 50% disapprove, 40% approve.
Obama's approval on handling race relations had dropped among whites to 33% from 42%. It also has dropped by double digits among blacks, although the small sample sizes make it hard to be precise.
In an interview on BET Networks airing Monday, Obama said distrust between minority groups and the police was "deeply rooted in our history" but argued that things were better for African Americans than they used to be.
"It's important to recognize that as painful as these incidents are, we can't equate what is happening now to what happened 50 years ago," he said. "If you talk to your parents, your grandparents, they'll tell you things are better. Not good, in some cases, but better. The reason it's important to understand that progress has been made is that it then gives us hope we can make even more progress."
December 8, 2014
WASHINGTON – Americans by nearly 3-1 say the white police officer responsible for the death of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man being arrested for selling cigarettes, should have faced charges from a Staten Island grand jury, a nationwide USA TODAY/Pew Research Center poll finds.
Nearly nine of 10 also say it would be a good idea for more police officers to wear body cameras to record their interactions.
It was a cellphone video of a police officer holding Garner in what appeared to be a chokehold – even as he gasped "I can't breathe" – that apparently galvanized public opinion. By 57%-22%, those surveyed say the grand jury made the wrong decision in not bringing charges against New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo.
In contrast, by 50%-37% they say a grand jury in Ferguson, Mo., made the right decision in deciding not to charge officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown. In that case, a white policeman shot an unarmed African American teenager, but accounts of how the incident unfolded are in dispute.
The telephone survey of 1,507 adults, taken Wednesday through Sunday, has a margin of error of 3 percentage points. Questions about the Eric Garner grand jury, which released its decision Wednesday, were asked of 1,114 respondents; the margin of error is also 3 percentage points.
The results spotlight a sharp divide in public opinion between blacks and whites, especially over whether race was a factor in the decisions not to bring indictments in the two cases.
In both cases, blacks overwhelmingly say the grand juries erred in not bringing charges – 80% in the Michael Brown case, 90% in the Eric Garner case. But among whites, views changed between the cases: Two-thirds say the grand jury made the right decision on Michael Brown. By 47%-28%, they say the grand jury made the wrong decision on Eric Garner.
• In both cases, nearly two-thirds of blacks say race played a major factor in the decisions not to charge the police officers. But only about one in six whites call race a major factor. By big margins, whites say race was not a factor at all.
• In another demographic divide, young people under 30 are much more likely than older Americans to say charges should have been brought in the two cases. People under 50 are more likely than those 65 and older to say race was a factor in the grand juries' decisions.
The two cases have fueled protests from New York to California over police treatment of blacks and stoked a debate over the state of race relations in the United States.
Americans are inclined to think that race relations between local police forces and minorities across the country will get worse rather than better over the next year, 35%-21%. About four in 10 expect them to stay about the same.
But opinions about that vary widely by race, too. More than half of blacks predict race relations will worsen, compared with just a third of whites and one-fourth of Hispanics.
After Eric Garner died from being put in a chokehold by an NYPD officer, many people began questioning police tactics. What exactly happens when someone is put in a chokehold and why do many police departments discourage using them? VPC
Assessments on how President Obama, the first African American elected to the White House, is handling race relations have soured a bit. In a poll in August, before the two police incidents, Americans approved of how he was doing on race issues, 48%-42%. Now his disapproval rating on that issue has jumped by 10 points, to 50% disapprove, 40% approve.
Obama's approval on handling race relations had dropped among whites to 33% from 42%. It also has dropped by double digits among blacks, although the small sample sizes make it hard to be precise.
In an interview on BET Networks airing Monday, Obama said distrust between minority groups and the police was "deeply rooted in our history" but argued that things were better for African Americans than they used to be.
"It's important to recognize that as painful as these incidents are, we can't equate what is happening now to what happened 50 years ago," he said. "If you talk to your parents, your grandparents, they'll tell you things are better. Not good, in some cases, but better. The reason it's important to understand that progress has been made is that it then gives us hope we can make even more progress."
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