Three police officers accused of killing Manuel 'Manny' Ellis, an unarmed Black man, were acquitted on Thursday (December 21) in Washington. Disappointed by the jury's decision, chanting "No justice, no peace," on Thursday evening, a crowd of around 100 people, including the victim's family, blocked an intersection near a mural of Manny Ellis in Tacoma.

The killing, which happened back in 2020, bears parallels to the murder of George Floyd the same year;&nbsp;the dying pleas for air by both men sparked widespread protests.

<h2>The 'not-guilty'&nbsp;judgement</h2>

Three Tacoma, Washington, police officers Christopher Burbank, Matthew Collins, and Timothy Rankine were accused of killing Ellis.&nbsp;

However, a jury found Officers Christopher Burbank and Matthew Collins not guilty of murder and manslaughter charges. Officer Timothy Rankine was found not guilty of manslaughter.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/jeffrey-epstein-victim-doe-107-urges-court-not-to-release-her-name-in-soon-to-be-unsealed-documents-672290">Jeffrey Epstein victim 'Doe 107' urges court not to release her name in soon-to-be unsealed documents</a>

The judgement comes after a trial that lasted more than two months.

<h2>What happened back in 2020?</h2>

As per video footage of the incident — including bystander video — on March 3, 2020, the officers punched 33-year-old Manuel Ellis and put him in a chokehold from behind. They also shot him with a stun gun and knelt on his back, which cut off Ellis' air supply.

Witness testimonies and the videos showed that Ellis was walking home after getting doughnuts from a 7-Eleven when he passed a police patrol car at a red light. Inside the car were Collins and Burbank.

The two officers claim they saw Ellis try to force open the door of a passing car, and that he became aggressive upon questioning. Collins, as per AP, also testified that Manuel Ellis demonstrated "superhuman strength" and&nbsp;lifted him off the ground and threw him through the air.&nbsp;

However, three witnesses testified that they saw no such thing and that Ellis didn't do anything to provoke the officers.&nbsp;

They said that after a brief conversation, the two white officers knocked down Ellis, even as he&nbsp;held up his hand in surrender. However, Burbank still shot him in the chest with a taser. A doorbell surveillance camera corroborated this.&nbsp;

Soon, many officers appeared for backup. Among them was Rankine, who arrived after Ellis was already handcuffed face-down. The officer knelt on Ellis' upper back.

Video evidence showed the victim addressing the officers as 'sir' and telling them he can't breathe. During his testimony, Rankine called the death a tragedy, but said: "The only response at that point that I could think of is, 'If you can talk to me, you can still breathe'".

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/ai-death-calculator-boasts-accuracy-in-predicting-when-youll-die-do-you-want-to-try-it-672232">AI death calculator boasts 'accuracy' in predicting when you'll die. Do you want to try it?</a>

The Pierce County medical examiner ruled Manny Ellis' death a homicide caused by oxygen deprivation. However, lawyers for the officers argued that Ellis, who had methamphetamine in his system, died due to drug use and a heart condition.

<h2>Distressing witness testimony</h2>

One witness, Sara McDowell, 26 told the court: "When I saw Manuel not doing anything, and him get attacked like that, it wasn't right."

"I'd never seen police do anything like that. It was the worst thing I've ever seen. It was scary. It wasn't OK," she added.

However, despite the evidence, the jury gave the not-guilty verdict. AP reported&nbsp;that as the first not-guilty verdict was read, there was a gasp from the gallery.

In a statement, the City of Tacoma said that the verdict would not affect an internal police department investigation. It said that once the investigation findings are approved by Chief Avery Moore, decisions about any possible discipline, "up to and including termination," will be made. This is expected to happen within the next two weeks.

(With inputs from agencies)

Three police officers accused of killing Manuel 'Manny' Ellis, an unarmed Black man, were acquitted on Thursday (December 21) in Washington. Disappointed by the jury's decision, chanting "No justice, no peace," on Thursday evening, a crowd of around 100 people, including the victim's family, blocked an intersection near a mural of Manny Ellis in Tacoma.

Three police officers accused of killing Manuel 'Manny' Ellis, an unarmed Black man, were acquitted on Thursday (December 21) in Washington. Disappointed by the jury's decision, chanting "No justice, no peace," on Thursday evening, a crowd of around 100 people, including the victim's family, blocked an intersection near a mural of Manny Ellis in Tacoma. The killing, which happened back in 2020, bears parallels to the murder of George Floyd the same year; the dying pleas for air by both men sparked widespread protests. The 'not-guilty' judgement Three Tacoma, Washington, police officers Christopher Burbank, Matthew Collins, and Timothy Rankine were accused of killing Ellis. However, a jury found Officers Christopher Burbank and Matthew Collins not guilty of murder and manslaughter charges. Officer Timothy Rankine was found not guilty of manslaughter. Also read | Jeffrey Epstein victim 'Doe 107' urges court not to release her name in soon-to-be unsealed documents The judgement comes after a trial that lasted more than two months. What happened back in 2020? As per video footage of the incident — including bystander video — on March 3, 2020, the officers punched 33-year-old Manuel Ellis and put him in a chokehold from behind. They also shot him with a stun gun and knelt on his back, which cut off Ellis' air supply. Witness testimonies and the videos showed that Ellis was walking home after getting doughnuts from a 7-Eleven when he passed a police patrol car at a red light. Inside the car were Collins and Burbank. The two officers claim they saw Ellis try to force open the door of a passing car, and that he became aggressive upon questioning. Collins, as per AP, also testified that Manuel Ellis demonstrated "superhuman strength" and lifted him off the ground and threw him through the air. However, three witnesses testified that they saw no such thing and that Ellis didn't do anything to provoke the officers. They said that after a brief conversation, the two white officers knocked down Ellis, even as he held up his hand in surrender. However, Burbank still shot him in the chest with a taser. A doorbell surveillance camera corroborated this. Soon, many officers appeared for backup. Among them was Rankine, who arrived after Ellis was already handcuffed face-down. The officer knelt on Ellis' upper back. Video evidence showed the victim addressing the officers as 'sir' and telling them he can't breathe. During his testimony, Rankine called the death a tragedy, but said: "The only response at that point that I could think of is, 'If you can talk to me, you can still breathe'". Also read | AI death calculator boasts 'accuracy' in predicting when you'll die. Do you want to try it? The Pierce County medical examiner ruled Manny Ellis' death a homicide caused by oxygen deprivation. However, lawyers for the officers argued that Ellis, who had methamphetamine in his system, died due to drug use and a heart condition. Distressing witness testimony One witness, Sara McDowell, 26 told the court: "When I saw Manuel not doing anything, and him get attacked like that, it wasn't right." "I'd never seen police do anything like that. It was the worst thing I've ever seen. It was scary. It wasn't OK," she added. However, despite the evidence, the jury gave the not-guilty verdict. AP reported that as the first not-guilty verdict was read, there was a gasp from the gallery. In a statement, the City of Tacoma said that the verdict would not affect an internal police department investigation. It said that once the investigation findings are approved by Chief Avery Moore, decisions about any possible discipline, "up to and including termination," will be made. This is expected to happen within the next two weeks. (With inputs from agencies)

White officers, accused of killing unarmed black man Manny Ellis, acquitted despite mounting evidence

The police department in Grand Rapids, Michigan is facing severe criticism after a police officer shot dead an unarmed black man earlier this month. The incident has sparked protests across the city and demonstrators demand justice for Patrick Lyoya

Americans stage protest in Michigan over shooting of Patrick Lyoya

Seven Rochester, New York police officers were suspended on Thursday over the asphyxiation death of a Black man who they arrested in March in a brutal incident only revealed in videotape footage made public this week.

Seven New York police officers suspended over Black man's death

Ahmaud Arbery was shot by&nbsp;Gregory and Travis McMichael in Gerogia in February while jogging in the neighbourhood.&nbsp;

Gregory, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, are in the custody of the Glynn County Sheriff's Department and have been detained by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) since May 07.

During a court session on the matter,&nbsp;an investigator testified in court on Thursday confirming that a racial slur was used after Ahmaud was shot by the father-son pair.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/a-lot-of-them-arent-even-pretending-to-be-in-charge-obama-attacks-trump-administration-299125">Also read:&nbsp;A lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge: Obama attacks Trump administration</a>

After more than five hours of arguments during which a prosecutor said Arbery, 25, had been "chased, hunted and ultimately executed", Glynn County Chief Magistrate Judge Wallace Harrell ruled probable cause existed and the case could go to trial.

Special Agent Richard Dial of the GBI claimed that William Bryan told his office in an interview last month that the former police officer's son, Travis McMichael, uttered the slur as the unarmed Ahmaud lay dying from the shooting wounds.

"Mr. Bryan said that after the shooting took place before police arrival, while Mr. Arbery was on the ground, that he heard Travis McMichael make the statement: fucking nigger," Richard Dial said in testimony.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/hundreds-gather-to-remember-george-floyd-at-memorial-service-303444">Also read:&nbsp;Hundreds gather to remember George Floyd at memorial service</a>

Special Agent also claimed to possess evidence from social media and other resources through which he can prove&nbsp;Travis McMichael had used racial slurs in the past.

He claimed to have proof Travis, that&nbsp;a former U.S. Coast Guard boarding officer, once told a friend that he loved his job because he "was on a boat and there weren't any N-words anywhere," Dial testified.

The father-son duo, who chased the unarmed jogger before shooting him,&nbsp;have been charged with murder and aggravated assault. Bryan, their neighbor who took the cellphone video, was charged with murder and attempting to illegally detain and confine.

Kevin Gough, Bryan's attorney, claimed that his client was unaware of the chase, and took the video as a duty of an Ameerican citizen. The claim was criticized by&nbsp;Special prosecutor Jesse Evans who told the court that "any American would pick up the phone and call 911" instead.

(With inputs from Reuters)

Ahmaud Arbery was shot by Gregory and Travis McMichael in Gerogia in February while jogging in the neighbourhood. Gregory, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, are in the custody of the Glynn County Sheriff's Department and have been detained by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) since May 07.

Ahmaud Arbery was shot by Gregory and Travis McMichael in Gerogia in February while jogging in the neighbourhood. Gregory, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, are in the custody of the Glynn County Sheriff's Department and have been detained by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) since May 07. During a court session on the matter, an investigator testified in court on Thursday confirming that a racial slur was used after Ahmaud was shot by the father-son pair. Also read: A lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge: Obama attacks Trump administration After more than five hours of arguments during which a prosecutor said Arbery, 25, had been "chased, hunted and ultimately executed", Glynn County Chief Magistrate Judge Wallace Harrell ruled probable cause existed and the case could go to trial. Special Agent Richard Dial of the GBI claimed that William Bryan told his office in an interview last month that the former police officer's son, Travis McMichael, uttered the slur as the unarmed Ahmaud lay dying from the shooting wounds. "Mr. Bryan said that after the shooting took place before police arrival, while Mr. Arbery was on the ground, that he heard Travis McMichael make the statement: fucking nigger," Richard Dial said in testimony. Also read: Hundreds gather to remember George Floyd at memorial service Special Agent also claimed to possess evidence from social media and other resources through which he can prove Travis McMichael had used racial slurs in the past. He claimed to have proof Travis, that a former U.S. Coast Guard boarding officer, once told a friend that he loved his job because he "was on a boat and there weren't any N-words anywhere," Dial testified. The father-son duo, who chased the unarmed jogger before shooting him, have been charged with murder and aggravated assault. Bryan, their neighbor who took the cellphone video, was charged with murder and attempting to illegally detain and confine. Kevin Gough, Bryan's attorney, claimed that his client was unaware of the chase, and took the video as a duty of an Ameerican citizen. The claim was criticized by Special prosecutor Jesse Evans who told the court that "any American would pick up the phone and call 911" instead. (With inputs from Reuters)

Shooters of Georgia black man used 'N' word after shooting, investigator testifies

A white supremacist convicted of killing James Byrd Jr. in 1998 by dragging the 49-year-old black man behind a truck in one of the most notorious US&nbsp;hate crimes of modern times was executed in Texas on Wednesday.

<a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/world/white-supremacist-to-be-executed-in-texas-for-dragging-death-of-black-man-213279&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjkrJn0mevhAhXKKY8KHZDABo8QFjAAegQIBRAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw2CMXCpH-L3lcpN6C1BdaWM">John William "Bill" King</a>, 44, was put to death by lethal injection and pronounced dead at 7:08 p.m. (0008 GMT Thursday) at the state’s death chamber in Huntsville, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said in a statement.&nbsp;

The department said King wrote the last statement that read: "Capital Punishment: Them without the capital get the punishment."

King, along with Shawn Berry and Lawrence Brewer, was accused of kidnapping Byrd while he hitchhiked in Jasper, Texas, on June 7, 1998.&nbsp;

Prosecutors said the men dragged him behind their 1982 Ford pickup truck for 3 miles (5 km) before dumping his body in front of an African-American church.

A "KKK" engraved lighter was among the evidence police found at the scene, court documents showed.&nbsp;

Brewer, also a white supremacist, was executed in 2011.

Berry was sentenced to life in prison for the crime.

King always maintained his innocence, saying that he left the two other men before Byrd was killed.

The gruesome killing spurred the passing of the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act, strengthening punishments for hate crimes in Texas.

The murder, along with that of Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student who was beaten and left to die tied to a fence, was also the genesis of the federal hate crimes prevention act passed in 2009.&nbsp;

Byrd`s sister Carla Taylor read from a family statement after she, another of his sisters and his niece witnessed the execution.

King`s "execution tonight was just punishment for his actions," she said, noting that Byrd had three children and four grandchildren.

"James` legacy continues to be of peace and nonviolence."

King was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to death in 1999.

He was a member of a white supremacist gang and spoke of starting a race war while in prison for a previous crime.

He also talked about initiating new members by having them kidnap and murder black people, court documents showed.&nbsp;

King was the third inmate in Texas and the fourth in the United States to be executed in 2019, according to the Death Penalty Information Centre.

A white supremacist convicted of killing James Byrd Jr. in 1998 by dragging the 49-year-old black man behind a truck in one of the most notorious US hate crimes of modern times was executed in Texas on Wednesday.

A white supremacist convicted of killing James Byrd Jr. in 1998 by dragging the 49-year-old black man behind a truck in one of the most notorious US hate crimes of modern times was executed in Texas on Wednesday. John William "Bill" King, 44, was put to death by lethal injection and pronounced dead at 7:08 p.m. (0008 GMT Thursday) at the state’s death chamber in Huntsville, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said in a statement. The department said King wrote the last statement that read: "Capital Punishment: Them without the capital get the punishment." King, along with Shawn Berry and Lawrence Brewer, was accused of kidnapping Byrd while he hitchhiked in Jasper, Texas, on June 7, 1998. Prosecutors said the men dragged him behind their 1982 Ford pickup truck for 3 miles (5 km) before dumping his body in front of an African-American church. A "KKK" engraved lighter was among the evidence police found at the scene, court documents showed. Brewer, also a white supremacist, was executed in 2011. Berry was sentenced to life in prison for the crime. King always maintained his innocence, saying that he left the two other men before Byrd was killed. The gruesome killing spurred the passing of the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act, strengthening punishments for hate crimes in Texas. The murder, along with that of Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student who was beaten and left to die tied to a fence, was also the genesis of the federal hate crimes prevention act passed in 2009. Byrd`s sister Carla Taylor read from a family statement after she, another of his sisters and his niece witnessed the execution. King`s "execution tonight was just punishment for his actions," she said, noting that Byrd had three children and four grandchildren. "James` legacy continues to be of peace and nonviolence." King was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to death in 1999. He was a member of a white supremacist gang and spoke of starting a race war while in prison for a previous crime. He also talked about initiating new members by having them kidnap and murder black people, court documents showed. King was the third inmate in Texas and the fourth in the United States to be executed in 2019, according to the Death Penalty Information Centre.

White supremacist executed in Texas for dragging death of black man

The second fatal police shooting of a black man in two days sparked outrage in the United States on Thursday, this one particularly chilling because the victim&#39;s girlfriend posted live video on the internet of the bloody scene minutes afterward.

The killing of Philando Castile, 32, who was shot by a police officer after a traffic stop on Wednesday evening, prompted Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton to order a state investigation.

&quot;Would this have happened if the driver and the passengers were white? I don&rsquo;t think it would have,&quot; Dayton told reporters on Thursday. &quot;So I&rsquo;m forced to confront that this kind of racism exists, and it&#39;s incumbent upon all of us to vow and ensure that it doesn&#39;t happen and doesn&#39;t continue to happen.&quot;

Castile&rsquo;s death occurred within a day of the shooting of 37-year-old Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Sterling was killed during an altercation with two white police officers. Graphic video of that incident triggered protests and an outcry on social media.

Dayton called for the US&nbsp;Department of Justice to open its own investigation, but the department said on Thursday it would assist the state investigation as necessary. The Justice Department has opened an investigation into the Baton Rouge shooting.

Castile&rsquo;s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, videotaped the minutes immediately following his shooting and posted it on Facebook Live. Castile, who was driving, was shot with Reynolds and her four-year-old daughter in the car. The graphic video showed blood oozing through Castile&#39;s shirt as he appeared to lose consciousness.

President Barack Obama said the killings were tragedies.

&quot;All of us as Americans should be troubled by these shootings, because these are not isolated incidents. They&#39;re symptomatic of a broader set of racial disparities that exist in our criminal justice system,&quot; he said in remarks after arriving in Poland.

 
PROTESTERS GATHER

The use of force by police against African-Americans in cities from Ferguson, Missouri, to Baltimore and New York has sparked periodic and sometimes violent protests in the past two years, and has spawned a movement called Black Lives Matter. Anger has intensified when the officers involved in such incidents have been acquitted or not charged at all.

Reynolds&#39; video showed a police officer outside the car pointing a gun. Reynolds described what was going on, sometimes speaking calmly to the police officer, sometimes with her voice rising as she feared Castile was dying.

Reynolds said Castile was shot after police pulled their car over, citing a broken tail light. &quot;Nothing within his body language said &#39;Kill me, I want to be dead,&#39;&quot; she said on Thursday.

Dozens of protesters gathered at the governor&#39;s mansion in St. Paul, about 10 miles Southeast of the scene of the incident, where the governor spoke at a news conference with Reynolds and civil rights activists.

When Reynolds spoke earlier in the day, people shouted &quot;murder&quot; and called for the arrest of the police officer involved.

&quot;All of these killings of young black men, I am ready to take my grandson somewhere else,&quot; said one protester, Chanell Peaches Wall, 59, who said she recently moved to the area from Tennessee.

She held a placard that said &quot;He was my son too&quot; on one side and &quot;No justice, no peace&quot; on the other.

Demonstrations over the deaths of Castile, Sterling and other black men killed by police were planned in St&nbsp;Paul, Chicago and several smaller cities on Thursday evening, according to organisers posting on social media.

In New York City, several hundred protesters blocked traffic in Times Square, chanting &quot;Hands up, don&#39;t shoot&quot; and other slogans.

Other rallies, including one in Atlanta, were planned for Friday. Weekend protests as far away as London were being discussed on Twitter. 
&nbsp;

OFFICER PUT ON LEAVE

A statement on the website of the City of Falcon Heights, where the shooting occurred, said a Saint Anthony Village police officer discharged his gun during a traffic stop on Wednesday evening, and the unidentified driver later died at Hennepin County Medical Center from resulting injuries.

It said the officer involved had been placed on paid administrative leave, as is standard procedure for Falcon Heights, which is about six&nbsp;miles Northeast of downtown Minneapolis. The ethnicity of the police officer was not clear. Attempts to reach the police department for further comment were unsuccessful.

Former Saint Anthony Chief of Police John Ohl, who retired in June, said in an interview with a freelance journalist in May that was published on Thursday that the media were biased against police on the issue of police killings.&nbsp;

&quot;Nothing&rsquo;s significantly broken in law enforcement now,&quot; he said.

Minnesota officials declined in a Thursday afternoon news conference to identify the officer who shot Castile, saying they were still interviewing him. His identity would be released after the interview was completed, they said.

The city&#39;s website said the Saint Anthony Village police department was working with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and other law enforcement agencies on an investigation.

The labour union that represents the officer who shot Castile urged people to reserve judgment.

&quot;We know that people are angry, discouraged and heartbroken,&quot; said Sean Gormley, executive director of Law Enforcement Labor Services Inc, in a statement. &quot;We support an open, thorough and objective investigation that we believe, in time, will provide the answers to the questions we all have.&quot;

&#39;SHAKEN&#39; BY VIDEO

&quot;Many of us watched the video, and we are shaken to capacity at the thought of this,&quot; said Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of the Minneapolis chapter of the NAACP rights group.

&ldquo;What this signifies to us is that black lives don&rsquo;t really matter in the state of Minnesota.&rdquo;

Castile&#39;s mother, Valerie Castile, described her son as a &quot;laid back&quot; but industrious man who worked as a school cafeteria supervisor and enjoyed playing video games. He had a permit to carry a concealed weapon, she told CNN.

Reynolds said police had not even tried to check if her boyfriend was alive after they shot him, and it had taken at least 15 minutes for paramedics to arrive.

&quot;Not one shot, not two shots, not three shots, but five shots,&quot; she said at the news conference. &quot;They did not check for a pulse at the scene of the crime.&quot;

St&nbsp;Paul Public Schools said in a statement Castile had worked for the district since 2002, and colleagues were mourning a cheerful &quot;team player who maintained great relationships with staff and students&quot;. 
&nbsp;

VIDEO OF AFTERMATH

In the video Reynolds posted to Facebook after the shooting, she said her boyfriend had just been pulled over and explained he had a gun he was licensed to carry.

&quot;He was trying to get out his ID and his wallet out of his pocket,&quot; Reynolds said. &quot;He let the officer know that he had a firearm and that he was reaching for his wallet, and the officer just shot him in his arm.&quot;

Police said a handgun was recovered at the scene.&nbsp;&quot;Fuck,&quot; a distraught man is heard screaming in the video. &quot;I told him not to reach for it.&quot;

The shooting was the second high-profile killing of a black man by police in Minnesota in seven months. Two Minneapolis police officers in November shot and killed 24-year-old Jamar Clark in a struggle that broke out when they were called to assist an ambulance crew that was helping Clark&#39;s girlfriend.

The Washington Post said Castile was at least the 506th person and 123rd black American shot and killed by police so far in 2016, according to a database it has set up to track such deaths. About 10 per cent of those black Americans were unarmed, while about 61 per cent had guns, the paper said.

(Reuters)

While protests spread across America, the officer who shot Castile five times in front of his girlfriend and daughter is on paid leave

The second fatal police shooting of a black man in two days sparked outrage in the United States on Thursday, this one particularly chilling because the victim's girlfriend posted live video on the internet of the bloody scene minutes afterward. The killing of Philando Castile, 32, who was shot by a police officer after a traffic stop on Wednesday evening, prompted Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton to order a state investigation. "Would this have happened if the driver and the passengers were white? I don’t think it would have," Dayton told reporters on Thursday. "So I’m forced to confront that this kind of racism exists, and it's incumbent upon all of us to vow and ensure that it doesn't happen and doesn't continue to happen." Castile’s death occurred within a day of the shooting of 37-year-old Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Sterling was killed during an altercation with two white police officers. Graphic video of that incident triggered protests and an outcry on social media. Dayton called for the US Department of Justice to open its own investigation, but the department said on Thursday it would assist the state investigation as necessary. The Justice Department has opened an investigation into the Baton Rouge shooting. Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, videotaped the minutes immediately following his shooting and posted it on Facebook Live. Castile, who was driving, was shot with Reynolds and her four-year-old daughter in the car. The graphic video showed blood oozing through Castile's shirt as he appeared to lose consciousness. President Barack Obama said the killings were tragedies. "All of us as Americans should be troubled by these shootings, because these are not isolated incidents. They're symptomatic of a broader set of racial disparities that exist in our criminal justice system," he said in remarks after arriving in Poland. PROTESTERS GATHER The use of force by police against African-Americans in cities from Ferguson, Missouri, to Baltimore and New York has sparked periodic and sometimes violent protests in the past two years, and has spawned a movement called Black Lives Matter. Anger has intensified when the officers involved in such incidents have been acquitted or not charged at all. Reynolds' video showed a police officer outside the car pointing a gun. Reynolds described what was going on, sometimes speaking calmly to the police officer, sometimes with her voice rising as she feared Castile was dying. Reynolds said Castile was shot after police pulled their car over, citing a broken tail light. "Nothing within his body language said 'Kill me, I want to be dead,'" she said on Thursday. Dozens of protesters gathered at the governor's mansion in St. Paul, about 10 miles Southeast of the scene of the incident, where the governor spoke at a news conference with Reynolds and civil rights activists. When Reynolds spoke earlier in the day, people shouted "murder" and called for the arrest of the police officer involved. "All of these killings of young black men, I am ready to take my grandson somewhere else," said one protester, Chanell Peaches Wall, 59, who said she recently moved to the area from Tennessee. She held a placard that said "He was my son too" on one side and "No justice, no peace" on the other. Demonstrations over the deaths of Castile, Sterling and other black men killed by police were planned in St Paul, Chicago and several smaller cities on Thursday evening, according to organisers posting on social media. In New York City, several hundred protesters blocked traffic in Times Square, chanting "Hands up, don't shoot" and other slogans. Other rallies, including one in Atlanta, were planned for Friday. Weekend protests as far away as London were being discussed on Twitter. OFFICER PUT ON LEAVE A statement on the website of the City of Falcon Heights, where the shooting occurred, said a Saint Anthony Village police officer discharged his gun during a traffic stop on Wednesday evening, and the unidentified driver later died at Hennepin County Medical Center from resulting injuries. It said the officer involved had been placed on paid administrative leave, as is standard procedure for Falcon Heights, which is about six miles Northeast of downtown Minneapolis. The ethnicity of the police officer was not clear. Attempts to reach the police department for further comment were unsuccessful. Former Saint Anthony Chief of Police John Ohl, who retired in June, said in an interview with a freelance journalist in May that was published on Thursday that the media were biased against police on the issue of police killings. "Nothing’s significantly broken in law enforcement now," he said. Minnesota officials declined in a Thursday afternoon news conference to identify the officer who shot Castile, saying they were still interviewing him. His identity would be released after the interview was completed, they said. The city's website said the Saint Anthony Village police department was working with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and other law enforcement agencies on an investigation. The labour union that represents the officer who shot Castile urged people to reserve judgment. "We know that people are angry, discouraged and heartbroken," said Sean Gormley, executive director of Law Enforcement Labor Services Inc, in a statement. "We support an open, thorough and objective investigation that we believe, in time, will provide the answers to the questions we all have." 'SHAKEN' BY VIDEO "Many of us watched the video, and we are shaken to capacity at the thought of this," said Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of the Minneapolis chapter of the NAACP rights group. “What this signifies to us is that black lives don’t really matter in the state of Minnesota.” Castile's mother, Valerie Castile, described her son as a "laid back" but industrious man who worked as a school cafeteria supervisor and enjoyed playing video games. He had a permit to carry a concealed weapon, she told CNN. Reynolds said police had not even tried to check if her boyfriend was alive after they shot him, and it had taken at least 15 minutes for paramedics to arrive. "Not one shot, not two shots, not three shots, but five shots," she said at the news conference. "They did not check for a pulse at the scene of the crime." St Paul Public Schools said in a statement Castile had worked for the district since 2002, and colleagues were mourning a cheerful "team player who maintained great relationships with staff and students". VIDEO OF AFTERMATH In the video Reynolds posted to Facebook after the shooting, she said her boyfriend had just been pulled over and explained he had a gun he was licensed to carry. "He was trying to get out his ID and his wallet out of his pocket," Reynolds said. "He let the officer know that he had a firearm and that he was reaching for his wallet, and the officer just shot him in his arm." Police said a handgun was recovered at the scene. "Fuck," a distraught man is heard screaming in the video. "I told him not to reach for it." The shooting was the second high-profile killing of a black man by police in Minnesota in seven months. Two Minneapolis police officers in November shot and killed 24-year-old Jamar Clark in a struggle that broke out when they were called to assist an ambulance crew that was helping Clark's girlfriend. The Washington Post said Castile was at least the 506th person and 123rd black American shot and killed by police so far in 2016, according to a database it has set up to track such deaths. About 10 per cent of those black Americans were unarmed, while about 61 per cent had guns, the paper said. (Reuters)

Outrage, protests after US police fatally shoot second black man in two days

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