Like a great many other people, I was shocked and revolted by the execution video that has spread across the internet in the last few days. The footage of the man’s death sparked several questions in my mind: what provoked the killing? How can someone hold another person’s life in such scant regard? Is this evidence of an ideological clash between different cultures that all too often manifests itself in hatred?
But there was one particular question that stood out: why did St Louis police have to kill Kajieme Powell?
In case the name is not familiar, Powell was the 25-year old man shot dead by police in St Louis on 19 August, not far from where Michael Brown was killed by Officer Darren Wilson ten days earlier. Following the Brown killing and the subsequent mass protests, many people have expressed disbelief that police could kill another young African American man in the same area so soon after Brown’s death.
Repeat viewings do not make the film any easier to watch. Powell was walking back and forth outside a convenience store from which he is alleged to have stolen a couple of soft drinks. The passer-by who recorded the footage on his mobile phone is amused at Powell’s behaviour at first. It is when the police arrive that the tone shifts drastically, with Powell repeatedly shouting “shoot me” at the officers. As several gunshots ring out and Powell collapses to the ground, the reaction of witnesses is one of stunned incredulity. “The man is already dead (and) they’re cuffing him,” says the cameraman. Full story...
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But there was one particular question that stood out: why did St Louis police have to kill Kajieme Powell?
In case the name is not familiar, Powell was the 25-year old man shot dead by police in St Louis on 19 August, not far from where Michael Brown was killed by Officer Darren Wilson ten days earlier. Following the Brown killing and the subsequent mass protests, many people have expressed disbelief that police could kill another young African American man in the same area so soon after Brown’s death.
Repeat viewings do not make the film any easier to watch. Powell was walking back and forth outside a convenience store from which he is alleged to have stolen a couple of soft drinks. The passer-by who recorded the footage on his mobile phone is amused at Powell’s behaviour at first. It is when the police arrive that the tone shifts drastically, with Powell repeatedly shouting “shoot me” at the officers. As several gunshots ring out and Powell collapses to the ground, the reaction of witnesses is one of stunned incredulity. “The man is already dead (and) they’re cuffing him,” says the cameraman. Full story...
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- It isn't Ferguson: It's the USA...
- The chart that the US police force does not want you to see...
- John Oliver: Ferguson, MO and police militarization...
- Nationwide outrage at 'racist' policing after Michael Brown killing...
- Is Ferguson our future?
- Autopsy shows Michael Brown was shot six times, two bullets hit head...
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