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![The way police in the US deal with demonstrators is often criticized.]()
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The way police in the US deal with demonstrators is often criticized.
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AFP
![The arrests are often very brutal.]()
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The arrests are often very brutal.
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AFP
![George Floyd († 46) did not survive on Monday.]()
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George Floyd († 46) did not survive on Monday.
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Facebook
![Screenshot 2016-07-07 at 12.40.01.jpg]()
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Philando Castile was shot in his car by a police officer.
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zvg
![Eric Garner died when he was arrested. He couldn't breathe either.]()
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Eric Garner died when he was arrested. He couldn’t breathe either.
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“I can’t breathe!” Gasped George Floyd († 46) when brutal cop Derek Chauvin (44) pressed his knee relentlessly on the back of his neck. The incident in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was fatal to the African American on Monday a week ago.
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This example shows once again that US officials often treat people with anything but squeamishness. For years, the police have been criticized for being particularly brutal and taking up arms too quickly.
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Police officers in Indiana are allowed to deploy without training
Police training in America should also be to blame for this. As the “NZZ” reported, the training lasts an average of 19 weeks. However, there are big differences from state to state. While the budding cops in California first have to go to school for 32 weeks, the police officers in Indiana are allowed to work before graduation. The condition: you have to do the training within one year. At the police academy in the city of Columbia, South Carolina, basic training takes less than three months.
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As far as the content of the courses is concerned, it is also clear what the focus is on.
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An average of 58 hours are spent dealing with firearms, while 49 additional hours teach prospective officers various defense tactics. And they only spend eight hours training de-escalation techniques. This shows a survey of 281 law enforcement agencies in 2015.
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And this is exactly where the problem lies, which is why US police officers often react so brutally, says Chuck Wexler. He is the managing director of the Police Executive Research Forum (Perf) – an international association of senior police officers and law enforcement agencies who are committed to increasing the emphasis on de-escalation techniques. The study was commissioned by Perf.
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«We never blame police officers for their actions. Because if we look at the training they have undergone, they are only doing what they were told, »says Wexler.
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99 percent of police officers are never charged
In addition, police officers are rarely punished. Between 2013 and 2019, 99 percent of the officials involved in the death were never indicted, according to CNBC. Four police officers were charged in 351 cases and only one of them was convicted.
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“A police officer comes to the witness stand and says: ‘I was afraid for my life’ and that’s all. There is no conviction and often not even an indictment, »Philip Stinson, professor at Bowling Green State University’s Ohio criminal law program, told NBC News.
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Experts estimate that at least 1,000 people die each year from the hand of a police officer. Disproportionately more black people are killed. Statistics show that they make up 24 percent, even though they make up 13 percent of the total US population, writes “CNBC”.
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In addition to Floyd, African Americans Michael Brown († 18), Tamir Rice († 12) and Philando Castile († 32) also had to die as a result of a police officer. Eric Garner († 43) was also killed in an arrest in New York in 2014. His last words were the same as George Floyd’s: “I can’t breathe!” (one)
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