>> ALTON STERLING IS THE LATEST AMERICAN TO BECOME BY POLICE
UNDER EXTREMELY QUESTIONABLE CIRCUMSTANCES.
MANY PEOPLE WOULD
WATCH THE VIDEO YOU ARE GOING TO SEE VERY SOON AND SAY MURDERED
BY POLICE UNDER QUESTIONABLE CIRCUMSTANCES.
IT HAPPENED IN
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA, AND THANKFULLY, AS HAS BECOME MORE
COMMON, A WITNESS, NOW MULTIPLE WITNESSES, CAPTURED THE INCIDENT
ON CELL PHONE VIDEO.
BEFORE WE ROLL THAT FOR YOU I WANT TO GIVE
YOU THE BASICS OF WHAT YOU WILL SEE IN THIS VIDEO --
>> -- IT WAS THE TRIPLE S FOOD MART --
>>SO JUST A WARNING, THIS VIDEO IS EXTREMELY GRAPHIC, IT SHOWS A
MAN BEING KILLED BY POLICE OFFICERS.
AND HERE IS THAT FIRST VIDEO.
>> HE'S GOT A GUN!
GUN!
>>YOU FUCKING MOVE I --
>>OH, SHIT.
>> THEY SHOT HIM?
>>YEAH.
>>OH MY FUCKING GOODNESS.
>>WHY?
>>OKAY.
SO, PREDICTABLY, HIS ARREST RECORDS FROM THE 1990S
HAVE COME OUT NOW, THAT IS USUALLY WHAT THE COPS LEAK RIGHT
AFTER THEY KILL SOMEONE.
IT IS NOT CLEAR, BECAUSE THIS JUST
HAPPENED VERY RECENTLY, FROM ALL THE REPORTING I HAVE SEEN
WHETHER HE ACTUALLY HAD A GUN, AND WHETHER HE WAS ACTUALLY THE
GUY THE POLICE WERE LOOKING FOR IN THE FIRST PLACE WITH THE
RED SHIRT SELLING CDS.
HE HAS A RED SHIRT ON, HE HAD CDS, HE
COULD BE THE GUY.
AND I WILL GO AS FAR TO SAY THAT COPS ARE
DANGEROUS GUYS TO MESS AROUND WITH, ESPECIALLY OUR COPS WHO
ARE TRAINED TO SHOOT YOU IMMEDIATELY, IF YOU SNEEZE AT
THEM THE WRONG WAY.
SO I KNOW IT IS INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING --
JUST PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND HER BACK IMMEDIATELY.
AND SOMETIMES
YOU GET SHOT IN THE BACK ANYWAY, THAT HAS HAPPENED.
LAQUAN
MCDONALD GOT SHOT IN THE BACK.
YOU GOT A WEAPON, SIT DOWN, PUT
YOUR HANDS -- AND WE DON'T KNOW FOR A FACT THAT HE HAD A GUN.
I
GUESS I WOULD BE SURPRISED IF HE DIDN'T, ALTHOUGH OFTENTIMES THEY
THINK IT IS A GUN AND IT'S NOT.
SOMETIMES IT IS A TOY GUN.
WE'VE
SEEN ALL THESE FACT PATTERNS, SO THAT PART OF THIS CASE IS NOT
SETTLED YET.
THE PART THAT APPEARS SETTLED FROM THE VIDEO,
AND WE'VE GOT ANOTHER VIDEO THAT SHOWS IT A LITTLE BIT BETTER AND
IS EVEN MORE GRAPHIC, SO I GIVE YOU A WARNING ON THAT AS WELL,
IS WHETHER THEY'VE GOT HIM PINNED DOWN ENOUGH.
TO THE NAKED
EYE IT APPEARS THEY'VE GOT HIM REALLY, REALLY PINNED DOWN.
IT
DOESN'T APPEAR THAT THE COPS ARE IN DANGER, IT APPEARS HE IS IN
DANGER.
BUT THE COPS VIEW EVERYTHING AS DANGER, I'M NOT
GOING TO TAKE A 1% CHANCE WITH ANYTHING.
SO LET'S TAKE A LOOK
AT THE SECOND VIDEO, IT IS EVEN MORE GRAPHIC, BUT HOPEFULLY IN
AN EFFORT TO FIGURE OUT WHAT REALLY HAPPENED.
AND I WANT TO
COME BACK AND TALK ABOUT THE TRAINING, WHICH IS AGAIN AT THE
VERY HEART OF THIS PROBLEM.
>>HE'S GOT A GUN!
GUN!
>> YOU FUCKING MOVE, I SWEAR TO GOD --
>>GET ON THE GROUND!
>>SHOTS FIRED, SHOTS FIRED.
FUCK!
>> A COUPLE OF ISSUES THERE.
ONE, YOU SEE THE THREE GUYS HAVE
HIM PINNED DOWN AND THEY SAY HE HAS A GUN, LET'S GIVE THEM THE
BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT FOR NOW AND ASSUME HE HAD SOMETHING
THEY THOUGHT WAS A GUN, I DON'T THINK THEY WOULD SHOOT HIM IF HE
DIDN'T HAVE SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE A GUN -- YOU HEAR THE FIRST
ROUND OF SHOTS, THE CAMERA FLIPS, AND YOU HEAR ANOTHER
ROUND OF SHOTS.
I KNOW THEY TEACH YOU TO KILL, BUT THAT IS
PART OF THE PROBLEM WITH THE TRAINING.
I JUST HEARD THIS
RECENTLY, I'M SORRY I FORGOT WHO IT WAS, BUT THEY TALKS TO A COP
AND HE SAID MY JOB IS TO MAKE SURE I GET HOME SAFE.
NO, THAT
IS NOT YOUR JOB.
YOUR JOB IS TO PROTECT AND SERVE.
WE WOULD
DESPERATELY LIKE YOU TO GET HOME SAFE, WE KNOW YOU HAVE FAMILIES,
WE KNOW YOU HAVE TO PROTECT YOURSELF, BUT THAT IS NOT YOUR
JOB.
IF YOU THINK YOUR JOB IS ALL I HAVE TO DO IS GET HOME
SAFE, THEN IT IS NOT SURPRISING THAT YOU SHOOT EVERYONE IN YOUR
PATH.
THE TRAINING IS, OKAY, MAKE SURE IF YOU PERCEIVE ANY
THREAT YOU PUT IT DOWN, PUT IT DOWN.
DON'T TAKE ANY CHANCES
WITH YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE THE MOST PRECIOUS THING ON EARTH.
BUT THAT IS NOT THE JOB.
COPS ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE A HARD JOB
BECAUSE THEY PUT THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE, SO WE RESPECT THAT --
BUT IF YOU SAY I'M NOT GOING TO PUT MY LIFE ON THE LINE, AND IF
SOMEBODY LOOKS AT ME WRONG, IF I PERCEIVE ANY KIND OF DANGER --
IN ANOTHER STORY IN TODAY'S SHOW ONE OF THE COPS TACKLE THE GUY
OUTSIDE A HOTEL, OR A BUNCH OF COPS TACKLED HIM, THEY THOUGHT
HE WAS A TERRORIST, INSTEAD HE WAS A TOURIST --
>>THEY SOUND SIMILAR.
>>AND AFTER THE GUY WAS PROVEN TO BE INNOCENT HE WAS LIKE, BUT
THAT?
AND THE COP SAYS, WELL, I TORE MY FINGERNAIL.
OH, OKAY,
I'M SORRY YOU DIDN'T GET HOME SAFE.
NO.
>>THEIR JOB IS TO GET HOME SAFE AND NOT NEED A MANICURE.
>>WE ARE TRAINING THEM WRONG.
DO NOT SHOOT FIRST AND ASK
QUESTIONS LATER, THAT IS THE JOB OF A CRIMINAL, NOT A COP.
>>IT SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF PEOPLE GET THROUGH TRAINING TO BE A COP
AND ARE SHOCKED TO FIND OUT THAT THE JOB CAN BE DANGEROUS.
I
DON'T KNOW HOW THAT IS POSSIBLE.
THEY WARN YOU IF YOU'RE SITTING
IN THE AREA OF AN AIRPLANE WHERE THE DOOR IS, THEY ASK YOU
CLEARLY IF YOU ARE READY FOR THE RESPONSIBILITY TO SIT IN THAT
AISLE.
DOESN'T SEEM LIKE POLICE UNDERSTAND GOING IN THAT YOU ARE
PUTTING YOURSELF IN MORE RISK.
THAT IS AN INHERENT PART OF THE
JOB, NOT SOME THING TO BE AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS.
CAN YOU
IMAGINE IF SOLDIERS COME INTO IRAQ SAID THE MOST IMPORTANT
THING IS TO GET HOME SAFE, DOESN'T MATTER WHAT HAPPENS TO
THE PEOPLE AROUND ME.
YOU ARE PUTTING YOURSELF IN A POSITION
THAT IS MORE DANGEROUS.
IN TERMS OF THOSE VIDEOS, FROM WHAT
PEOPLE WHO KNEW THE VICTIM HAVE SAID, IT SEEMS LIKE HE DID
ROUTINELY CARRY A GUN, WHICH IS APPARENTLY BECAUSE AS WE WILL GO
THROUGH HIS CURRENT RECORD HE IS NOT LEGALLY ALLOWED TO DO, SO
I'M GOING TO SAY IT IS MORE LIKELY THAT HE HAD A GUN THEN
THAT HE DIDN'T.
BUT YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THAT SITUATION AND SAY,
WHICH IS MORE LIKELY?
THAT POLICE, WHO ROUTINELY SHOOT
HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE PER YEAR THAT THEY DIDN'T NEED TO SHOOT, WERE
SPOOKED UNNECESSARILY AND EXECUTED A MAN -- OR THAT A GUY
WHO IS BEING HELD DOWN BY TWO COPS, WHO CAN SEE A PISTOL
POINTED AT HIS CHEST, DECIDED I'M GOING FOR IT, I'M REACHING
FOR MY GUN.
WHO THE FUCK THINKS THAT IS SOMETHING A PERSON WOULD
DO?
YEAH, I THINK AS I'M BEING HELD DOWN BY TWO PEOPLE I CAN
PROBABLY GET MY GUN OUT AND KILL THESE COPS BEFORE THEY KILL ME.
BECAUSE HE WAS STANDING THERE SELLING CDS.
NOBODY REASONABLE
OR RATIONAL THINKS THIS GUY WAS LIKE, I'M PROBABLY GOING TO TRY
TO KILL TWO COPS TONIGHT, DOESN'T MATTER IF THEY HAVE
A GUN TO MY CHEST.
THAT IS INSANITY.
>>I WILL GO FURTHER, COPS KEEP SAYING WE HAVE DANGEROUS JOBS,
BUT AGAIN, NO YOU DON'T IF YOU SHOOT EVERYONE IN YOUR PATH.
THAT IS NOT THAT DANGEROUS.
IN FACT I KNOW THAT TO BE A REALITY
BECAUSE WE DID A STORY ON IT EARLIER, IT IS LIKE THE
21ST MOST DANGEROUS JOB IN AMERICA.
GARDENERS HAVE MORE DANGEROUS JOBS.
>>I BELIEVE WAITRESSES.
>>YOU CAN LOOK AT THE LIST YOURSELF.
LAST YEAR, OH MY GOD,
COPS ARE UNDER SIEGE, BACK LIVES MATTER PROTESTED US.
YEAH,
PROTEST IS NOT A WEAPON, THAT IS YOUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT.
AND
LAST YEAR WAS THE SAFEST YEAR ON RECORD FOR COPS.
>>FOR LIKE 30 YEARS.
>>I DON'T WANT COPS TO GET HURT, I DON'T HAVE FAMILIES, IT IS
HEARTBREAKING WHEN YOU HEAR THOSE STORIES.
BUT WHAT IS
HAPPENING MUCH MORE OFTEN NOW IS NOT COPS GETTING HURT, IT IS
COPS DOING THE HURTING.
PEOPLE WILL SAY THERE IS NO RACIAL
COMPONENT -- A BLACK TEEN IS 21 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO GET SHOT BY
A COP THAN A WHITE TEEN.
THERE IS NO RACIAL COMPONENT?
REALLY?
NO RACIAL COMPONENT?
THE ONLY REASON YOU WOULD SAY THAT IS
BECAUSE YOU FEEL GUILTY, YOU FEEL LIKE, WAIT, ARE YOU SAYING
I'M A RACIST?
I'M NOT, I'M SAYING THERE IS A SUBCONSCIOUS
BIAS THAT AFFECTS A LOT OF US, APPARENTLY IT LEADS TO BLACK
KIDS GETTING SHOT AT 21 TIMES THE RATE THAT WHITE KIDS ARE.
I
WANT TO CHANGE THAT FACT THAT WE ARE TREATED EQUALLY, SO WHEN A
COP COMES UP TO A WHITE PERSON AND HE'S A GUN HE IS NOT LIKE,
GOOD, CARD-CARRYING NRA MEMBER, SECOND AMENDMENT, AND A BLACK
GUY, PIN HIM DOWN AND SHOOT HIM IN HIS CHEST, BECAUSE, BLACK GUY
WITH A GUN.
WHITE GUY, CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS.
BLACK
GUY, CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS.
THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN 21 TIMES MORE
LIKELY TO GET SHOT, AND YOU GO, THERE IS NO RACIAL COMPONENT.
YOU ARE BEING PURPOSELY BLIND BECAUSE YOU DON'T LIKE IT,
BECAUSE YOU THINK I'M CAUSING THAT.
NOBODY IS CHARGING YOU
WITH THAT, IF YOU ARE RAISING YOUR HAND AND SAYING IT WASN'T
ME, IT MAKES ME THINK, WAS IT YOU?
>>IF YOU BELIEVE THERE IS NO RACIAL COMPONENT TO HOW THE
POLICE PERCEIVED THREAT, YOU PROBABLY ALSO BELIEVE THAT A
STAR OF DAVID AND A SHERIFF STAR ARE THE SAME THING.
YOU WANT TO
BELIEVE THESE THINGS DON'T EXIST BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT TO ACCEPT
THAT YOU COLLECT SOME OF THESE COPS, VIEW THINGS THROUGH A
RACIAL LENS.
>>THERE ARE 1000 STUDIES ON THIS, THEY PUT COPS IN A
SIMULATOR, LIKE A VIDEOGAME, AND THEN THEY SHOWED -- COPS DON'T
KNOW WHY THEY ARE DOING THIS, THEY THINK IT IS JUST A TRAINING
EXERCISE -- THEY SHOW WHITE PEOPLE IN THE VIDEOGAME AND
BLACK PEOPLE.
GUESS WHO THEY SHOOT MORE?
BLACK PEOPLE.
SAME
EXACT SITUATION.
>>AND THEY MAKE THE DECISION TO SHOOT QUICKER.
IT IS NOT HYPOTHETICAL, IT IS LITERALLY THEY WERE TIMED
AT HOW QUICK THEY MAKE THE DECISION TO SHOOT, WITH A
BLACK PERSON THEY MAKE THE DECISION MORE QUICKLY.
>>FOR EXAMPLE, TAMIR RICE, TWO SECONDS.
THIS GUY, PINNED DOWN
-- I DON'T THINK HE'S A SECOND AMENDMENT GUY, I HAVE TO SHOOT
HIM HERE AND KILL HIM RIGHT AWAY.
AND THEN YOU WONDER WHY
AFRICAN-AMERICANS ARE CONCERNED.
LIKE, YOU KNOW WHY?
BECAUSE THEY
ARE CONCERNED FOR THEIR LIVES.
I GET THAT AND I WANT TO HELP
THEM.
I DON'T UNDERSTAND PEOPLE WHO LOOK AT IT AND GO, NO, THEY
ARE THE PROBLEM.
BECAUSE OF THAT WAS YOUR KID OR YOUR DAD OR
SOMEBODY YOU KNEW, FRIEND OF YOURS, WOULDN'T YOU WANT THE
COPS TO PAUSE JUST A LITTLE BIT AND SAY, MAYBE IF IT IS A WEAPON
WE CAN GET THAT WEAPON AWAY FROM HIM, BECAUSE THERE ARE MANY OF
US HERE, AND WE ARE ALL ON TOP OF HIM, AND HE IS PINNED DOWN
AND I HAVE A WEAPON POINTED TO HIS CHEST.
IT SEEMS LIKE WE ARE
NOT IN MORTAL THREAT YET, IF I SEE THAT HE'S GOT THE GUN, I'VE
GOT MY GUN RIGHT HERE AT HIS CHEST, THEN I CAN PULL THE
TRIGGER.
I WOULD WANT, IF IT WAS MY FAMILY MEMBER OR FRIEND, A
LITTLE PAUSE.
AT THE COPS ARE NOT TAUGHT TO PAUSE.
KILL, KILL,
WHO CARES, IT IS NOT YOU, IT IS THEM.
>>AND THE FINAL PIECE OF THIS PORTION OF INFORMATION IS THE
SHOP OWNER OF THE SHOP HE WAS KILLED OUTSIDE OF TOLD THE
ADVOCATE --
>> LOOK, MY FINAL POINT ON THIS IS TWOFOLD, ONE IS THAT THE
STANDARD FOR IF THE COP SHOULD DO A SHOOTING IS IF IT IS
OBJECTIVELY REASONABLE TO BELIEVE THERE IS A THREAT.
BUT
IF WE TRAIN THEM TO THINK EVERYTHING IS AN OBJECTIVELY
REASONABLE THREAT -- THAT'S WHY I'M NOT EVEN BLAMING
INDIVIDUALS, I KEEP BLAMING THE TRAINING BECAUSE THAT IS THE
ROUTE OF THE PROBLEM.
THE CULTURE OF POLICE IN AMERICA IS
THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM.
WHICH I'M EVERYTHING IS A THREAT
ESPECIALLY IF IT IS BLACK, SO MAKE SURE YOU SHOOT IF
EVERYTHING IS A THREAT.
AND THEY SAY THAT IS OBJECTIVELY WHAT I
WAS TAUGHT, I WAS TAUGHT IF ANYTHING IS REMOTELY A THREAT I
PUT IT DOWN, I KILL IT, AND I GO HOME SAFE.
I DIDN'T TAKE ANY CHANCES WITH MY LIFE, THAT IS WHY I HAVE
AN INCREDIBLY SAFE JOB.
>>AND OTHER COUNTRIES DON'T HAVE THIS RATE OF CIVILIANS KILLED
BY THE POLICE BECAUSE THEY DON'T TRAIN THE POLICE THAT EVERY
SECOND THEY ARE ON THE STREETS THEY ARE ABOUT TO BE KILLED.
>> AND FINALLY AS TO ANOTHER CULPRIT HERE, THE COPS ARE
ALMOST NEVER PROSECUTED, SO IT IS HALF THE RATE OF A REGULAR
CITIZEN IN TERMS OF CASES BEING BROUGHT AGAINST THEM, AND THEN
GETTING CONVICTIONS WHERE THEY GO TO PRISON.
IN ONLY 10% OF THE
SHOOTINGS TO THE EVER GO TO PRISON.
SO 90% OF THE TIME, THEY
GET AWAY WITH IT.
AND MAYBE SOME OF THAT TIME, OF COURSE, IT WAS
A LEGITIMATE, JUSTIFIED SHOOTING.
I'M NOT SAYING THEY
ARE 100% GUILTY ALL THE TIME, OF COURSE NOT, IT'S CASE-BY-CASE.
BUT THEY DISPROPORTIONATELY ARE UNPUNISHED.
SO THAT TELLS THEM,
THERE ARE NO CONSEQUENCES.
I TOLD YOU EVERYTHING IS A THREAT,
I TOLD YOU KILL IT SO YOU CAN GO HOME SAFE, AND I TOLD YOU YOU
WOULD GET AWAY WITH IT.
WHEN YOU SET UP THAT SITUATION, NO ONE
SHOULD BE SURPRISED THAT COPS DISPROPORTIONATELY KILL CITIZENS
HERE MORE THAN OTHER COUNTRIES, AND DISPROPORTIONALLY KILL
MINORITIES MORE THAN OTHER FOLKS.
THAT SHOULDN'T BE A
SURPRISE AND THAT IS WHAT WE HAVE HERE.
SO I WOULD SUGGEST
THAT THE COPS DON'T INVESTIGATE THEMSELVES.
WOW, WHAT A
REVOLUTIONARY THOUGHT.
AND PEOPLE WILL OBJECT.
IF YOU SAID
TO ME JOHN IS BEING TRIED ON OCCASION YOU WILL BE THE PERSON
INVESTIGATING -- I KNOW JOHN, I LIKE JOHN, I LEAN TOWARDS JOHN.
EVEN IF I DIDN'T WANT TO --
>>AND IMAGINE IF WE MET ON A PLANE IN PHOENIX.
SUSPICIOUS.
>>REFERRING TO CLINTON AND LYNCH, OF COURSE.
NOW, IF A COP
IS INVOLVED IN A SHOOTING, WHY DON'T WE HAVE THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT LOOK INTO IT, THE FBI?
THAT WILL COST MONEY?
IT
COSTS MONEY TO DO IT AT THE LOCAL LEVEL.
IF YOU HAVE IT AT
THE FEDERAL LEVEL AT LEAST IT REMOVES THE OBVIOUS, GLARING
CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
SO THE FBI DOES MANY THINGS, THERE IS NO
REASON IT CAN'T DO THAT.
YOU LOOK INTO IT AND YOU HAVE IT
REMOVED SO YOU HAVE A FAIR HEARING FOR THE VICTIMS.
>>MOST OF THE TIME YOU DON'T EVEN GET A FAIR HEARING AT
THE FEDERAL LEVEL.
THEY RARELY CONVICT.
>>AND THAT WON'T MAGICALLY SOLVE IT, MY GUESS IS THE FBI GUYS
WILL LEAN TOWARD THE COPS TOO, BUT AT LEAST THEY AREN'T BUDDIES
WITH THEM, THEY DON'T HAVE TO WORK WITH THEM THE NEXT DAY.
AND
YOU MOVE THE CASE TO THE FEDERAL SYSTEM BECAUSE PROSECUTORS ALSO
WORK WITH THE COPS EVERY AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, SO THEY ARE NOT
LIKELY TO PROSECUTE THEIR FRIENDS AND THE GUY THEY HAVE TO
WORK WITH AND HAVE A CORDIAL BUSINESS AND CAREER RELATIONSHIP
WITH THE VERY NEXT DAY.
THE JUDGES KNOW THE COPS, THEY
TESTIFY IN FRONT OF THEM.
SO REMOVE IT TO THE FEDERAL LEVEL
WHERE INVESTIGATORS AND PROSECUTORS AND JUDGES DON'T
KNOW THOSE COPS.
YOU MIGHT GET JUSTICE IN SOME OF THE CASES AND
THE NEXT TIME SOMEBODY THINGS, WHO CARES?
I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE
ANY RISK, WHY DON'T I JUST KILL THIS GUY?
I KNOW THEY AREN'T
THINKING IT FLIPPANTLY LIKE THAT, THEY ARE MAKING THE
DECISION IN A SECOND, BUT THAT WAS THROUGH THEIR HEADS, THAT
THERE WOULD BE NO CONSEQUENCES.
MAYBE THEY PAUSE AND GO, OOH,
MAYBE I WILL WIND UP IN JAIL, THAT'S CRAZY.
LET ME SEE IF I
CAN GET THAT GUN OUT OF HIS WAISTBAND OR WHATEVER, BECAUSE
WE'VE GOT HIM PINNED DOWN, I DON'T WANT TO GO TO JAIL FOR 20
YEARS.
NOW I THINK, WHO CARES?
>>IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO IMAGINE.
>>I KNOW I'M GOING TO GET AWAY WITH IT, WHY WOULD I TAKE A 1%
CHANCE?
IT IS A BLACK GUY UNDER ME, JUST SHOOT HIM AND BE DONE WITH IT.