[Boreas]

Bullshit! He was out on bail awaiting trial on those charges. What ever happened to the presumption of innocence. And he wasn't selling untaxed cigarettes. He was selling "loosies". That's when you buy a pack of cigarettes and then sell them individually so you can net a few bucks. That's about as petty a crime as you can find, a crime of poor people who have no other way to support themselves or their family. It's a little like selling CD rips in front of a convenience store. That can get you killed too if you're black.

He wasn't even selling loosies when accosted by the police. He had just broken up a fight. The cops decided to jack him up for a few cop laughs. Pantaleo decided to kill him.