Every time we write one of these we think surely, surely this must be the last story like this for a while?

Alas sadly it isn’t, and if you didn’t think that police in the U.S. have a real lack of respect for black lives then I guess you’ll never be convinced. Take the latest video of the shooting of 17-year-old Cedrick Chatman, gunned down on the streets of Chicago despite being unarmed.

The shooting took place back in January of 2013, with a judge ordering yesterday that footage be made public. Here’s the police account from CNN:

Chatman ditched a stolen car and ran from the two officers. As Fry and Toth pursued on foot, police say, the 5-foot-7, 133-pound Chatman turned toward them.

“As Mr. Chatman approaches the corner, he makes a slight turn, a subtle turn to the right with his upper body. I see in his right hand a dark gray or black object,” Fry said, according to court records.

“It was a small black object, which I believed to be a handgun.”

Fearing for his partner’s life, Fry fired four shots.

The object turned out to be a black iPhone box.

Asked during a deposition whether the object was ever pointed at the two officers, Fry said, “No.”

This is where you really have to start feeling sick to your stomach. Officer Fry has had a total of 30 complaints laid against him, 10 of those for use of excessive force. Every single complaint was dismissed by the police department. Then this:

In one case in 2007, Fry and a partner shot a 16-year-old black male in a school alcove after seeing a shiny object around his waist and fearing for their lives. The object wasn’t a weapon but a “shiny belt buckle,” according to an independent investigation of the shooting. The shooting was deemed justifiable, but CNN learned the city settled with the teen and his family for $99,000. There was no admission of guilt as part of the settlement.

No one says being a police officer is an easy job, and it’s hard to imagine the stress they come under each and every time they fear for their lives. 30 cases with each dismissed though, a prior history of shooting an unarmed teen – just what is happening over there in the Land of the Free?

[source:cnn]