Volunteer deputy Robert Bates claims to have accidentally pulled out his gun and fired at a man on the ground being arrested for allegedly selling illegal guns and other weapons (instead of pulling out his taste to temporarily stun the man). The video recording clearly shows the man on the ground, then an audible gunshot and the volunteer deputy exclaiming, "Oh, I shot him. I'm sorry." Later in the video, Harris, the man on the ground, states that he cannot breathe and the deputy responds by saying. "f--- your breath". Harris later died in the hospital and Bates is being charged with manslaughter.
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Analysis: Even though we have made some large leaps towards equality, this shows that we still have a long way to go. Even though we do not have (legal) enslavement of any race or gender and we have laws such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that state that discrimination is not legal or constitutional, we still have prejudice against African Americans by others, even and seemingly especially by authority figures such as policemen. Not only were racial laws and acts violated here, but individual rights outlined in court cases such as Miranda v Arizona were also violated.
This is the third incident of almost exactly the same events as the two Police killings which incited the riots just a few months ago. Has no one learned from these past events? This is essentially the riots during the 60s in Los Angeles over the Police brutality there.
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