[1]https://apnews.com/a172fb01bdb74b4159b39da390d9e79e
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Video evidence increasingly disproves police narratives

   By RYAN J. FOLEY
   Minneapolis police initially told the public that George Floyd died
   after a “medical incident during a police interaction.” The Buffalo,
   New York, department said a protester “tripped and fell.” Philadelphia
   police alleged that a college student who suffered a serious head wound
   had assaulted an officer.
   All three claims were quickly disproved by videos seen widely on the
   internet and television, fueling mistrust and embarrassing agencies
   that made misleading or incomplete statements that painted their
   actions in a far more favorable light.

   Police departments deny lying but acknowledge sometimes making mistakes
   when releasing information in fast-moving, complicated situations. The
   videos, they say, do not always capture officers’ perspectives.

   Defense lawyers say the inaccurate statements are encouraged by a
   culture of silence in which officers protect misbehaving colleagues, a
   court system that rarely holds officers accountable and a public that
   has given police the benefit of the doubt.

   Floyd died [2]after a white officer put his knee on his neck, even
   after Floyd stopped moving. Cellphone video showed him pleading for air
   as other officers stood by and bystanders urged the police to help him.

   The department’s initial news release claimed that Floyd “appeared to
   be suffering medical distress” after he resisted arrest and was
   handcuffed. The death [3]set off nationwide protests against police
   brutality and racial injustice.
   Minneapolis police spokesman John Elder said Tuesday that he missed
   initial notifications about Floyd and did not visit the scene, as he
   usually does after major events. He said he knew the arrest was on body
   camera video but that he would not be able to review it for several
   hours. Instead, he released the initial description after being briefed
   by supervisors, whom he learned later were also not at the scene.

   The department realized the statement was inaccurate hours later when
   the bystander video surfaced, and immediately requested an FBI
   investigation, he said. By then, the state Bureau of Criminal
   Apprehension had taken over the investigation of Floyd’s death, and
   Elder said he was unable to send out a corrected statement.

   “I will never lie to cover up the actions of somebody else,” Elder
   said.

   In Buffalo, authorities suspended and [4]charged two officers who were
   seen last week shoving peace activist Martin Gugino, who fell backward
   and struck his head on the sidewalk. The charges came only after video
   captured by a television crew was broadcast. The shove was not
   mentioned in an initial statement saying that Gugino fell. Police later
   apologized and said they were “working with incomplete details during
   what was a very fast-moving and fluid situation.”

   On Friday, a prosecutor in Philadelphia [5]charged an officer who was
   seen on video striking a Temple University student in the head and neck
   with a metal baton.

   The 21-year-old protester needed several staples and stitches to close
   his wound. He was in custody for almost 40 hours on allegations that he
   assaulted and injured an officer, according to his attorney. The
   student was released after prosecutors saw the video and decided to
   pursue the officer who hit him instead.

   Those are only the most recent examples. The same phenomenon has rocked
   other law enforcement agencies, particularly when minorities have been
   killed in police interactions that are captured by cellphones,
   surveillance systems or officers’ cameras.

   In Chicago, authorities initially said the 2014 shooting of 17-year-old
   Laquan McDonald was justified because the teen was approaching officers
   with a knife. But more than a year later, video was released showing
   that McDonald was veering away when he was shot by officer Jason Van
   Dyke, who [6]was later convicted of second-degree murder.
   When an officer in suburban Dallas shot 15-year-old Jordan Edwards in
   2017, his department said Edwards was in a vehicle with other teenagers
   that backed up toward police “in an aggressive manner.” The chief later
   acknowledged that police video showed the vehicle was moving away from,
   not toward, officers. The officer who fired into the car [7]was later
   convicted in Edwards’ death.  "

   [end of partial quote]

References

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   1. https://apnews.com/a172fb01bdb74b4159b39da390d9e79e
   2. https://apnews.com/e27cfce9464809aa8c91afd74c930bb5
   3. https://apnews.com/e1443df6ee94d9386a7dbbf6c1928f26
   4. https://apnews.com/41148a074e2caa8190926b25a2a940f8
   5. https://apnews.com/8707fd13f61d9e95d97b2e6954fa478e
   6. https://apnews.com/862ebaf6890d44de80c0ae74cac3949e/Officer-convicted-of-murder-in-slaying-of-Laquan-McDonald
   7. https://apnews.com/f5b68d24a1fd42c8a20077b40ba10406

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   9. https://apnews.com/a172fb01bdb74b4159b39da390d9e79e/gallery/5fa617873f3d4fd2802530bc1b4b520b