Michael Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9 2014. Brown was unarmed and officer Wilson fired his weapon 12 times. It is thought that the final shot was the one that ended the life of 18-year-old Brown. As a result of Brown’s death there was a widespread moral panic about what many see as a disproportionate use of force, especially against black people by U.S. police forces.
Despite widespread protests Brown’s killer will not face any charges. In the 12 months since Brown was killed the “Black Lives Matter” campaign has endeavored to shine a light into the muddy waters of police killings. According to the Herald Michael Brown’s father, Michael Brown Sr. is still mourning his son’s death. Last weekend, Mr. Brown led a protest march in Ferguson, starting at his sons memorial. Brown asked for a peaceful protest but admitted that the pain is still fresh.
“At the end of the day, I still lost my boy. I’m still hurting. My family’s still hurting.”
Sadly, Brown’s pleas fell on deaf ears, and violence broke out. Shots were fired, and according to the Daily Mail a close friend of Michael Brown’s was shot by police . It seems that 18-year-old Tyrone Harris was shot by police after firing at officers in an unmarked police car. The incident was filmed by a passerby, and footage shows the injured teenager face down, handcuffed, and bleeding while armed officers look on without giving any kind of first aid. Tony Rice, who shot the footage, was arrested for doing so.
As the anniversary of Michael Brown’s killing passes, Vice News reports that in the past year police have killed at least 1,083 citizens. They claim that black people are 3.28 times more likely to be killed by police than white people. The Washington Post reports that unarmed black men are seven times more likely to be killed by police than whites. Worryingly, many of those killed are involved in very minor incidents before they are killed.
One such incident took place in Cincinnati last month, where 43-year-old Samuel DuBose, wound up with a bullet in his head after being pulled over for driving without a front license tag. The Mirror reports that, since the killing of Brown, a further 54 teenagers have been shot and killed by police. These include Christian Taylor , who was killed the day before the anniversary of Brown’s death. Taylor got involved in an altercation with an officer after crashing his car.
The UK has a population of around one sixth of the U.S., and it is believed that UK police officers have been responsible for the death of around 75 citizens since the year 1900. American cops have therefore killed over 15 times more people in one year than UK cops have in their history.
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