UnNews:Missouri police: This one OK?

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Footage of the killing. Go on Twitter and say if you think it was good or bad!

Missouri police have released footage of their latest killing of a black suspect, in an attempt to get feedback from the public.

"Is this one OK?" they tweeted, posting a link to a video on YouTube which showed two officers pumping bullets into 25 year-old Kajieme Powell. Powell suffered from mental problems and had just stolen an energy drink (although the two facts are not necessarily linked).

Early responses to the tweet said that most members of the public were more comfortable with the killing than that of Michael Brown, who was shot last week for being Big and Scary.

White respondents were especially positive when shown comments that claimed that Powell was "maybe possibly holding a knife or something."

Experts assigned the results to a wide range of factors, including the local people being "all rioted out" after several nights of protests over Brown's killing.

However, the killing still represents a setback for the Midwest state, as federal authorities were forced to take down signs on the state borders boasting "Ten days without a police killing".

Sources

• Leverage, "Police release video of fatal Kajieme Powell shooting in St. Louis" Guardian, December 27 2023