Critics of situations like the one in Ferguson often claim that cameras attached to police uniforms would limit instances of police brutality.

But on Dec. 3, a grand jury in New York City showed that even when a police officer is on camera using lethal force against an unarmed black man, it is nearly impossible to even indict the officer.

The Eric Garner case is different than the Michael Brown shooting.

In Brown’s case, there were instanes of conflicting evidence that hindered the prosecution. But the Garner case was as transparent as a police brutality case can be. Garner, who was 6’3” and weighed 350 pounds, had a criminal history of mostly nonviolent offenses.

On July 17, he was approached by Officer Justin Damico for selling loose, untaxed cigarettes, a crime he had been guilty of in the past.

Garner claimed that he was innocent of any wrong-doing and demanded that the officer stop harassing him.

When the officer attempted to grab Garner, he threw his hands up and said, “Don’t touch me.” It was then that Officer Dan Pantaleo came up behind Garner and placed him in a choke hold, a technique that the New York Police Department banned in 1993.

Garner can be clearly heard in the video saying “I can’t breathe” nearly a dozen times as he was choked to death.

He was pronounced dead at a hospital nearly one hour later. The medical examiner determined that Garner’s death was due to compression of the neck and chest, as well as prone positioning, and ruled the death a homicide.

This grand jury had all the evidence in the world. They were able to watch the officer use a banned technique to kill an unarmed man on video, and they had the coroner’s affirmation of a homicide.

What charge should have been sought—second degree murder, manslaughter—is totally debatable. But there is no logical reason that the officer should have never even faced trial. The fact that the decision came only days after the decision to not indict officer Darren Wilson for killing Brown only makes matters worse.

The black community has been sent a message that the American judicial system is not in their favor, especially considering that in this country, a black person is shot by a police officer, security guard or vigilante every 28 hours, according to a 2012 study by the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement.

Until police officers start being held accountable for their actions in situations like this, our society will never have true progress in addressing the issue of police brutality.