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Prosecution Of U.S. Police For Killings Surges To Highest In Decade
“It’s not that there has been this massive uptick in civilian deaths. It’s just that there has been this massive uptick in scrutiny and protests,” he said.
Widespread protests over police brutality exploded over the August 2014 shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, by an officer in Ferguson, Missouri. A grand jury declined to indict the officer, Darren Wilson, and the Justice Department cleared him of civil rights violations.
Besides the Baltimore police, the officers charged this year include:
– Michael Slager, a former North Charleston, South Carolina, patrolman facing trial over the death of a black man who ran from a traffic stop and was shot in the back. A bystander caught the incident on video.
– Ray Tensing, an ex-University of Cincinnati officer, charged with murder for the July death of an unarmed black motorist during an off-campus traffic stop. Tensing’s body camera showed the stop and the shooting.
– Stephen Rankin, a former Portsmouth, Virginia, officer, faces a first-degree murder charge for the April shooting of a black teenager in a Walmart parking lot.
Ask Questions Later
Lawrence Grandpre, with the Baltimore think tank Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, which organized protests over Gray’s death, said prosecutions alone were not enough.
Police departments resolve most brutality allegations internally, and officers in Maryland and many other states are shielded by special legal protections, he said.
“Cops are going to have a massive incentive to, when in doubt, punch first, hit first, shoot first, and ask questions later,” said Grandpre, whose father was a Baltimore police officer.
