Eric Garner Case: 4 Questions With Former NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly
Former NYPD police commissioner on what's next.
— -- Former New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said it's "not just enough to just look at the video" when answering questions about Eric Garner's death during an interview with ABC News.
You need "context" to judge what happened, Kelly said, adding that police will have to work hard to rebuild trust with citizens after the announcement that the officer who placed Garner in a choke hold that killed him will not face criminal charges.
Here's what else we learned:
Q: What happens next?
A: "The officer still will go before a departmental hearing," Kelly said. "Consequences can be severe. There's a federal investigation that is being conducted and of course there will be a civil suit as well."
Q: How can police restore trust?
A: "You have to work at it every day," he said. "It's the type of business ... where you're always going to have some friction. Nobody is totally going to be happy with the relationship that they have with the police. They are the bearers of bad news."
But, he added, "communication is key."
Q: Are you worried about violent protests?
A: Kelly pointed out that New York City has the biggest police department in the country, and is well equipped to handle protesters. That's unlike in Ferguson, where multiple police departments were called in to help, he said.
But, "hopefully it will be a peaceful set of demonstrations that we'll see."
Q: What is the NYPD doing to prepare for that?
A: "Officers are being deployed to key locations trying to get information," he said. "Trying to get some intelligence to where those demonstrations might be. They're talking to community leaders. They're obviously communicating with the mayor, with people in Staten Island, and other organizations in the city."
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