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Uncle America recalls the past: 16 years ago, his son was shot and killed by the police in front of his relatives

Source: CCTV news client

The wave of protests across the United States caused by Floyd's death has not yet receded, and three months later, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, another African-American man was shot by police, and the news unveiled michael Bell's old wounds.

A similar scenario happens again

In 2004, 21-year-old Michael Bell Jr. was shot and killed by Kinosha police in his driveway when Bell Jr.'s mother and sister were only a few feet away, CBS reported.

Police launched an internal investigation at the time, and three days later ruled that the police suspected of shooting Bell Jr. were not at fault, saying that bell Tried to snatch the officer's gun, causing the police to shoot him and kill him.

Uncle America recalls the past: 16 years ago, his son was shot and killed by the police in front of his relatives

△ Portrait of Bell Jr. before his death Michael Bell jr. was provided in an interview with the media

Bell Jr.'s family did not accept the police's hasty internal investigation, and Michael Bell Sr. sued the Kenosha municipal government, which in 2010 compensated Bell Jr.'s family $1.75 million, the same year, a police officer involved in the case committed suicide.

Uncle America recalls the past: 16 years ago, his son was shot and killed by the police in front of his relatives

△ Bell Jr. (left) took a photo with old Bell before his death Image source: CBS

16 years later, just 27 blocks from old Bell's house, another man was shot by Kinosha police. Bell Sr. said that although Blake was black and Bell Jr. was white, their experiences were similar: they were both shot by Kenosha police in front of their loved ones.

On the 23rd local time, Jacob Blake, an African-American man who did not carry any weapons, was about to enter his car when the police fired multiple shots on his back. At the time, his three children were in the car. The police have not yet explained the reason for the shooting, and the relevant departments are investigating the incident.

According to Fox News, Blakes' lawyers said Blake was paralyzed below his waist and was currently undergoing surgery, and that Blake's family would file a civil rights lawsuit. Lawyers also called on the Kenosha Police Station to arrest the police officers who fired the shots and to fire others involved.

Bell Sr. said no judgment would be made until the details of the investigation were disclosed, but the shooting "looked very bad" and mechanisms should be put in place to prevent similar shootings.

The issue of police brutality remains to be resolved

Thanks to bell sring, Wisconsin legislated in 2014 to make it clear that deaths caused by police enforcement would be investigated by outside agencies. Because Blake survived the shooting, the investigation into his case is currently handled by the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

Bell Sr. pointed out that when Bell Jr. and Blake were shot, the police were not equipped with law enforcement recorders, which can help find out the truth of the incident and find out what the problem is. According to the Associated Press, the Kenosha city government approved the use of law enforcement recorders by police in 2017 to facilitate police accountability and facilitate police law enforcement on-site evidence collection, but it has been repeatedly delayed due to budget problems.

After the shooting of Blake, Wisconsin Gov. Ephraim expressed opposition to the "excessive use of force" by the police, and he called on the legislature to take action and introduce a series of bills, including prohibiting police from using "throat locking" actions, strengthening accountability and law enforcement transparency, and setting standards for the use of force by police throughout the state.

Uncle America recalls the past: 16 years ago, his son was shot and killed by the police in front of his relatives

△ Kinosha police throw tear gas to try to disperse the demonstrators Image source: Associated Press

According to US media reports, the protests in Kenosha City have lasted for 3 days, and demonstrations have broken out in New York, Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis and other places, and demonstrators have called for an end to police violence, and the lives of black people are also killed.

Executive Producer 丨 Wang Shanshan Zhang Ou

Producer 丨 Wang Wei

Editor-in-chief 丨 Li Ying

Editor 丨 Chen Ningzeyi