There's a pattern that plays out in public after the killings of Black people by law enforcement.
Brut reporter Essie Assibu explores four emblematic cases that had an all too similar aftermath...
Brut reporter Essie Assibu explores four emblematic cases that had an all too similar aftermath...
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00:00Another police killing of a black man.
00:02A deadly officer involved shooting in Louisiana.
00:04Another police shooting last night in Minnesota.
00:07Caught on camera.
00:09There's an eerily similar pattern that plays out in the wake of killings of black men and women
00:14at the hands of law enforcement in the United States.
00:19For Brut, I examined four emblematic cases of police killings
00:24to better understand how the aftermath unfolds,
00:27how the killings are portrayed,
00:29the responses they garner,
00:30and the way they are tried in and out of court.
00:33The sentence wasn't death.
00:36For selling cigarettes, it wasn't death.
00:38The killing of Eric Garner.
00:40Within seconds, gunfire.
00:43The killing of Alton Sterling.
00:46He killed my boyfriend.
00:48The killing of Philando Castile.
00:52The killing of George Floyd.
00:59The first viral video of police brutality
01:09was the savage beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police in 1991.
01:14Since then, images of black men and women dying in police custody
01:19have become a staple of the American media landscape.
01:22Now we are going to show you that video
01:24that's gone viral showing officers arresting a suspect who later died.
01:28We want to warn you, this video is very graphic.
01:31But the steady stream of brutal images shared around the world
01:36has drawn criticism for desensitizing the majority
01:39and re-traumatizing and dehumanizing black and brown people.
01:43A police officer kneeled on his neck.
01:46Eric Garner died as a result of a plainclothes police officer
01:50putting him in a chokehold.
01:51As the brutal images of the killings continue to circulate,
01:55victims' names become hashtags and rallying cries for justice.
02:05As details of the killing emerge,
02:07dominating news coverage and social media feeds,
02:10the public becomes acquainted with the victim's family and friends.
02:14I want to remember him the way I last saw him leaving my home earlier that evening.
02:20There's a lot that I remember.
02:21Most importantly, the smile.
02:24Meanwhile, we also hear from authorities.
02:27He was not a chokehold.
02:29He was a big man that had to be brought to the ground
02:32to be placed under arrest by shorter police officers.
02:35What occurred last night is certainly very tragic, very sad.
02:39But the vast majority of the work we do does never require the use of force.
02:54The more attention the case garners,
02:56the more calls for punishing the officers involved increase.
03:00But in the immediate aftermath of the killing,
03:03those calls are not always answered.
03:06Both are on paid administrative leave.
03:07This is still an ongoing criminal matter.
03:10I will decide how best to proceed at a later time.
03:14When it comes to media coverage,
03:16the focus can quickly shift to the victim's past,
03:20their lifestyle and any possible previous brushes with the law.
03:25These narratives serve to demonize victims
03:28and to create justifications for their killings.
03:31I know there's always some story about a person's character.
03:33Oh, drugs and a history.
03:35And this man could not have been more of a model citizen.
03:39Journalists from the New York Post described Eric Garner
03:42as a career petty criminal who experienced dozens of arrests,
03:47but had learned nothing from them.
03:48He went on to call Garner a victim of himself.
03:52Just that simple.
03:54Are you on something right now?
03:57There's a reason the police officer asked that.
03:59Floyd had a number of narcotics in his system,
04:01including more than enough fentanyl to die of an overdose.
04:04Interest turns to the officer's past as well.
04:08In fact, a 2015 study found that officers involved in fatal shootings
04:14were more likely to have a history of civilian complaints and lawsuits
04:18against them.
04:19Pantaleo was the prime aggressor in your mind?
04:22Absolutely.
04:22That's after the judge threw it out.
04:25He still continued to harass me.
04:27Officer Chauvin faced at least 17 misconduct complaints.
04:31He shot and critically wounded a man after a brief and nonviolent confrontation.
04:35His public opinion about the case becomes more and more divided.
04:39The question remains about the officer's future.
04:42The decision by a grand jury not to indict in the death of Eric Garner
04:48is a miscarriage of justice.
04:50The use of deadly force by officer Yanez was not justified.
04:56Accordingly, we filed a criminal complaint.
04:59Insufficient evidence exists to charge either officer.
05:03Eric Chauvin is now in custody and is being charged with third degree murder
05:08for the killing of George Floyd.
05:13In most cases of police killings of Black people,
05:16the officers involved are never indicted, much less tried in a court of law.
05:21That being said, videos taken by bystanders on cell phones,
05:26as well as from body cam and dashboard footage,
05:29have changed the way these cases are tried in court.
05:32This case is exactly what you thought when you saw it first.
05:37When you saw that video, it's what you felt in your gut.
05:41It's what you now know in your heart.
05:46This wasn't policing. This was murder.
05:49On the other hand, the defense's job is to put the deceased victim on trial.
05:54They will try to assassinate the character of that individual
05:59to justify the excessive use of force that caused the death.
06:03They're alleging that Philando Castile was using marijuana.
06:08The person has drugs in their system, and that drug causes an overdose.
06:15In the context of the police restraint,
06:18it's the natural consequence of the deceased's actions.
06:22And then comes the verdict.
06:25Between 2013 and 2019,
06:28over 98% of officers involved in fatal incidents were not criminally charged.
06:35Even when charges were brought, most of the cases ended in acquittal.
06:40Because if there's any chance the officer felt his life was in danger,
06:44courts will consider the use of force justified.
06:48This afternoon, a jury acquitted him of all charges after five days of deliberations.
06:53This city killed my son, and the murderer gets away.
06:58The guilty verdict of Derek Chauvin,
07:01the officer who knelt on George Floyd's neck for over nine minutes,
07:07is a rare instance of a police officer being convicted for murder.
07:11We, the jury in the above entitled matter, as to count one
07:14unintentional second degree murder while committing a felony,
07:17find the defendant guilty.
07:19Verdict, count two.
07:20Third degree murder, guilty.
07:22Verdict, count three.
07:23Second degree manslaughter, guilty.
07:25Between 2013 and 2019,
07:29only 0.3% of officer-involved fatalities resulted in a conviction.
07:35Ms. Garner, I told you, we'll get justice.
07:39And we still, we're going to fight for you too.
07:42We're going to fight for everybody.