The case is an amazing collision of two phenomena: the omnipresence of digital cameras and the acceptance of a gun and its "more humane" cousin, the Taser, as early problem solvers in a chain of options available to police.
The officer was initially charged with second-degree murder, but in the course of the trial the charges were reduced to involuntary manslaughter. It was apparently a first in California as far as convicting a cop for a killing at all. Still, the reduction of the charge angered many Oakland citizens and led to demonstrations.
For the rest of this essay please got to:
http://www.thiscantbehappening.net/node/136
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