As the grand jury investigating the chokehold death of Eric Garner moves closer to reaching a decision, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) has sent detectives to Ferguson, Missouri, in hopes of gathering information about the presence of “professional agitators” during protests, the Associated Press reported.
Back in July, an officer placed Garner in a NYPD-banned chokehold for allegedly selling illegal cigarettes.
Garner died during the confrontation and the entire incident was captured on camera, including Garner telling the officers he couldn’t breathe.
It is up to a grand jury to decide whether or not the officer will be charged with Garner’s death but the decision by the NYPD to gather intel on “professional agitators” in Ferguson has already caused some to lose hope for an indictment.
Protests in Ferguson following the grand jury’s decision not to indict officer Darren Wilson for fatally shooting unarmed teen Michael Brown eventually resulted in an eruption of anger that led to chaos and looting.
Despite multiple pleas by the Brown family, civil rights activists and community leaders begging citizens to keep all demonstrations peaceful, violence still snatched the media spotlight away from the peaceful protesters and many believe it was the work of “professional agitators.”
These people allegedly incited violence among the massive crowds of protesters on purpose and launched violent attacks against police officers.
Authorities seem to be focused on protesters from out of town and many of the people who were filming officers, but some people believe the real agitators that need to be investigated were planted by police or were officers in disguise.
Radio host Dave Hodges claimed to have spoken to sources from within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) back in August during the initial protests following Brown’s killing.
Hodges said that these anonymous sources admitted that the violent outbreaks and looting that took place during the protests were “encouraged and exacerbated by undercover DHS agents posing as members of the Black Panthers.”
It’s a theory that many people already believe to be true.
“But of course, the ‘professional agitators’ that the police themselves plant in the crowd in order to incite riots will be ignored,” one comment read under a story posted on Rawstory.com.
Another comment read, “Ha ha ha. You mean the professional, off duty cops wearing face masks who incite violence at peaceful protests to justify their insane abuses of power, right?”
The comment went on to name several other groups who are known to incite violence during an otherwise peaceful protest before slamming investigators for pointing fingers at “victims who get a bit too uppity about demanding justice.”
Perhaps even more troublesome for some readers, however, was the idea that the investigation by the NYPD was a sign that the officer would not be indicted in Garner’s death.
Investigators gathered intel on the “professional agitators” in order to ensure the same violent tactics were not repeated in New York following the grand jury’s decision on the case.
This caused some people to question why the NYPD would already be preparing for a riot.
“My age old sense tell me that there will be no indictment in this matter either,” the comment read.
“Why do I get the feeling that the outcome of this grand jury is already a done deal,” another reader asked.
Despite people already doubting that justice will be served for Garner, his mother remains hopeful.
“I’m going to stay optimistic,” Gwen Carr, Garner’s mother, said on Saturday, according to the NY Daily News.
Much like the Brown family, Carr is begging the community to remain peaceful and that is a particularly important cry amidst speculation of police agitators.
“We don’t want people to burn up the place,” Carr added.
Carr went on to say that there was “no way [the grand jury] should come back without indicting that police officer.”
In the midst of trying to remain optimistic, however, even Carr had to admit that she was somewhat concerned about the grand jury’s decision now that four months have passed since the investigation started.
“It makes me feel, ‘Why are they taking so long?’ “ she said. “They’re not letting us know anything. We are in the dark.”
Civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton also voiced his frustrations saying that it “doesn’t take four months to look at no video.”
