THE BAIS HAVAAD HALACHA JOURNAL: Volume 5775 Issue X Parshas Miketz The Aftermath of Eric Gardner's Chokehold Death Are Police Above the Law? by Rabbi Micha Cohn

PLEASE LEARN THIS L"N MY BOBIE ESTHER BAS Yichiel Dovid The death of Eric Gardner, resulting from a police officer’s chokehold, has raised much public concern over the use of excessive force by police. Unlike the case in Fergusson Missouri, this case was not about killing for self-defense. It was about the use of excessive force by police that unintentionally caused death. In this article we will examine if law enforcement officials have a dispensation for unintentionally causing death, and what the parameters are.