Rosie Perez: I give the talk

to any young person in my family.

Man: It is a survival conversation.

Woman: If they ask you to do something, do it.

Be respectful.

Make sure your hands are showing.

I want to make sure you come home.

Different man: When you become a father of a black boy

in this country, this is a part of the terrain.

You try to construct

an environment that will keep them safe

from this sort of thing.

All you got to do is get out of the situation alive.

And then we can do anything.

We can march. We can do whatever.

Different man: A kid shouldn'’t see a cop as a threat.

He ought to see that individual

as somebody that can help him.

[Batista'’s "Rise Up" playing]

Man: What?

Rise.

Rise.

Rise.

[echoing] Rise.

Rise.

Rise.

One day, we'’ll rise up.

Rise up.

Rise up.

Rise up.

One day, we'’ll rise up.

Rise up.

Rise up.

I know one day we'’ll rise up.

Rise up.

Rise up.

Rise up.

What?

I give the talk, "the talk"

to my nephew, to my nieces,

to any young person in my family.

You have to because that'’s the reality

that we live with, right?

My mom'’s conversation with me is

"Whatever they say you do

because I want to make sure you come home."

You have to be the bigger person.

It'’s better to let them, you know, frisk you,

ask for I.D., say what they have to say

and go about their way,

and that'’s what I want my son to know.

Don'’t get arrogant, don'’t get pompous.

Just be quiet,

ask why you'’re getting arrested,

say, "I have a right to a phone call,

and I have a right to a lawyer,"

and keep your mouth shut.

I mean, we were taught at an early age

that the police meant us no good, not to trust them,

not to--we--we couldn'’t run to the police.

We couldn'’t--the police were not our saviors.

They were not there to protect us.

There are good cops, and there are bad cops.

There are cops that make it like hell out here.

There are cops that will change your world.

Police have changed lives,

lives that were going in certain directions,

that were going in directions of just living,

y-y-you know, good directions,

and a police officer could come and change

your family'’s life forever.

Police say an orange safety indicator

had been removed from a BB gun

that a 12-year-old boy in Cleveland pulled

from his waistband before then being shot

and killed by police.

Reporter: Less than two seconds after pulling up,

26-year-old officer Timothy Loehmann

shot the boy dead.

Man: It happened in Cleveland,

and it happened to a child.

Reporter: A two-year-old personnel report

on Officer Loehmann raises serious questions

about handgun performance

described as "dismal."

Crowd: Hands up, don'’t shoot!

Our streets! Our streets!

Our streets! Our streets!

We'’re doing this for Tamir!

Woman: You don'’t have to use deadly force as a first resort,

and that'’s the problem I'’m having.

Like, they were 5 feet away from my son.

If you was gonna ride up on him,

you could have said, "Hey, little man.

What you doing?"

You didn'’t have to shoot him.

Right now, I'’m living on the East Side of Cleveland.

I recently moved from the West Side of Cleveland

across the street from Cudell Recreation Center.

I could no longer live in the house.

It was just too painful.

Tamir was shot by Timothy Loehmann

less than a second right under this gazebo

in this very spot right here.

Two little boys knocked on my door and said

the police sh-- just shot my son,

and I was in--really in denial,

uh, because I told them, "No.

My kids is at the rec playing"

and he didn'’t know what he was talking about.

My daughter Tajai was the third person on the scene.

She heard a gunshot, and somebody said,

"That'’s your little brother," and then she ran out,

and she got tackled.

I put my stuff on, and I walked across the street.

Sure enough, when I got on the scene,

there was my son laying down

with, like, 10 police officers just standing there,

circled around him.

Man: Police are trained that it only takes

1/3 of a second or less to draw and fire a weapon upon them,

and therefore, they must react quickly to any threat.

Officer Loehmann had just seen Tamir put an object

into his waist as they pulled up,

and--and he stood up in the gazebo

and started walking away.

A moment later as the car slid toward him,

Tamir drew the replica gun from his waist,

and the officer fired.

Rice: It was a child. You know, he was a juvenile.

It was a fake gun,

and you still come up there

like it was the cowboy West or something,

so, you know, it'’s--it'’s quite sad,

and I know America is scared because, you know, I'’m scared.

It'’s sad.

They view them as thugs and gangsters.

That doesn'’t mean that you have to use deadly force

as the first resort.

It doesn'’t matter.

I know a lot of people tired.

It'’s not just black and brown.

It'’s white, black, Asian.

It'’s--it'’s everybody that'’s in America right now.

They'’re tired of law enforcement just, you know, killing people,

blankly just killing people.

I hate to say it like that.

If he was a white boy, I believe

he would still be alive.

Yeah. Yeah, if he was a white boy,

I--I think he would still be alive.

Reporter: Police say he had an Airsoft replica gun

that looks exactly like a pistol.

Boy: I got the gun from my father,

and he figured since it'’s a toy, he'’ll just give it to me.

I didn'’t take the orange tip off

and was cleaning my whole room around.

It was actually on the floor.

My dresser is really heavy,

and I dropped the dresser by mistake,

and the tip of the gun piece was crushed.

How Tamir got it is because when I moved over here,

I figured since this is a nice, quiet neighborhood,

I can bring it out and it looks like a toy.

Then he said he just wanted to use it

just to play around with it.

I remember us actually getting up in the morning,

coming here to Cudell to meet up,

hang out for a minute until we decided

to come outside to play with the gun,

and then his mom called him in the house

to come and eat for a minute.

So I actually let him take the gun home with him to go eat,

and I told him I'’ll be back in just about 15, 20 minutes.

When I came up here, all I seen was

the ambulance, the crossing tape,

and police cars.

Once I found out it was the police that shot him,

I was even more devastated because, How could this

possibly happen?

And I just went on and on questioning

"How could this happen, how could this happen?"

[Crowd chanting, "Justice for Tamir!"]

Woman: We want it now!

Crowd: ♪ We want it, we want it, we want it ♪

Man, voice-over: Before, um, the incident with Tamir Rice,

I had never done any organizing.

I, uh, had only gone to community meetings

in which we were able to speak with city councilmen,

with the mayor, with, uh, members

of law enforcement about some of our issues and concerns,

and that was pretty much the extent of my activism,

but it wasn'’t until the murder--

and I have to put it that way, that'’s what it was.

It wasn'’t until the murder of, uh, Tamir Rice

that I felt that that wasn'’t enough.

I felt that, uh, more had to be done.

My son Jamil is 3 years old,

and even now I worry over him,

and it'’s part of the motivation for me to continue

to be, uh, active in social justice reform

because, uh, I know that I have to have that talk

with my son when he gets older.

I know that my son is gonna have a bull'’s-eye

on his back, so to speak.

No matter how articulate someone can be

or the ability that a young man may have

to be able to speak and tone down

a particular situation with law enforcement,

it'’s not gonna matter because Tamir Rice

might have had that ability,

but you'’d never know it

because they never gave him a chance.

They never gave him a chance.

Rice: I thank everybody for coming out

and to continue to support justice for Tamir.

Um, I thank y'’all for standing for me

for when I can'’t stand.

Um, it gives me strength to know

that I have all of you guys to uplift me and pray for me.

Man: When you become a father of a black boy

in this country, if you have a certain amount

of political, uh, consciousness and awareness,

you know that this is a part of the terrain,

and this is the problem.

I mean, there is no talk.

It'’s just the reality,

and I think that there'’s nothing you can tell your kids

to protect them from the police,

from someone who wants to violate them.

This is the system that we'’re in.

The talk, in my opinion, has to consist

mostly of for the adults,

and that is "Don'’t be surprised when America kills

your black male child because this is the norm."

We have more evidence for this than anything else.

[Indistinct chatter]

Woman: Having a--a black male child

is like...

oh, my God.

It is just undescribable. It'’s scary.

Like you--it'’s very scary. Like, you fear...

Because they say--

you fear him even walking home from school,

um, going to a basketball game,

going to the movies with his girlfriend.

You know, you like-- there'’s a constant fear.

After the death of Tamir, it'’s gotten worse, so--

We never knew that it could happen to us,

like, our family.

It was, like, just shocking.

Like, really, a child?

It was just-- it was like

I--I lost my baby, you know,

and this was-- you my baby,

but it was like I lost my baby, too.

You know, it was like our kids

are all of our kids.

I really wasn'’t having these conversations

with my kids because we wasn'’t in that type of neighborhood,

and, um, you know, I always told them

to cooperate and, you know, do what you told,

but I just didn'’t really have to have that type of talk

because we wasn'’t in that type of neighborhood.

Um, I started giving him the talk,

um, when I actually made the decision

to move out of Cleveland,

and that was when,

uh, he almost got shot

but not by a police officer,

um, and he was scared

to go outside.

He wouldn'’t ride his bike,

he wouldn'’t go

to the end of the driveway,

and, um, this incident with Tamir

just made it worse where now it'’s like

I can'’t go to the police

because the police killing us, too.

The conversation I have with my daughter

now that we--

we are seeing more women become victims

of police brutality,

um, to, you know, do what they tell you.

If they ask you to do something, do it.

Be respectful at all times.

Keep your hands in front of you, you know,

don'’t make any sudden movements or gestures.

Be polite.

Um, they ask you questions,

answer them truthfully.

So it--it--it'’s a little bit different conversation

than what I have with my son

but pretty much the same thing.

Black--black children are dying,

and you do have to respect the police

because they are trying to help,

but at the same time,

why would you hurt a child?

Woman: The Butterfly Project was started in an effort

to help the community, the kids who knew Tamir,

and the family, the Rice family, cope

with some of the emotions that they were feeling,

so we basically, um, started a free summer camp,

and the kids came two days a week

for a couple of hours, and we taught them things

like yoga and meditation.

So we just try to, like, have a lot of ways

for them to use, like, creative expression

to help with, uh, some of the feelings

that they were having at the time.

Rice: Well, it was helpful to have the garden,

but as far as Tajai, it just kind of kept her busy

and a little bit structured.

I helped paint the rocks.

I helped clean the--clean it up a little bit,

and I helped with the teddy bears and stuff.

We had kids paint how they feel.

Some got writing on them, some got art.

Rice: I'’m happy to have

the Tamir Rice Butterfly Garden

for the children, um, to heal in the community,

to give them hope and encourage them

to just, um, be strong because, um, these times

is very crucial,

but now I see that we have a failed system,

now I can work harder to try to fight

the system for change.

I'’ll probably be fighting the system

till the day I die

because how my son had to die.

I believe that there'’s a difference

between how the Latino community is treated differently

in regards to East Coast versus West Coast.

I go to Los Angeles to go to college.

I'’m going out to nightclubs.

Come out of the nightclub one night,

and I'’m with a bunch of Latino and--and African Americans,

kids all my age, all college students,

and we get put up-- up against a wall

in the back of the club.

I am the only one going-- with my hands up there,

I go, "Excuse me, officer. Why are you"--

and my friend-- his name is Arthur Rainier--

and he said...

[Whispering] "Because you'’re Latino

"and I'’m black.

Shut up."

And my new friends from L.A., they'’re, like,

"Welcome to Los Angeles. This is nothing."

If you were Chicano, Mexican American,

forget about it.

They immediately labeled you as a gangbanger,

and that was crazy to me.

[Siren]

[Police radio chatter]

Female reporter: We are live in Paramount Park.

That is near Paramount High School,

and they are here right now securing the scene and the body.

Boy: We were in the bleachers. I was doing my homework.

All of a sudden, I heard, like, 6 gunshots.

Male reporter: Yesterday, deputies told us there was

a report that someone involved in a fight had a gun

in front of Paramount High School.

Girl: I heard some kids saying that some guy got shot.

Female reporter: Around 2:30 this afternoon,

sheriff'’s deputies shot and killed the unidentified man

between Paramount Park...

Male reporter: The sheriff'’s department has not said

why the deputy shot the Ramirez...

Female reporter: They are also searching for a weapon.

Male reporter: There has still been no indication

that a gun was ever found, and so far...

Man: Where is it? Where'’s the gun, where'’s the knife?

Female reporter: A weapon, a possible weapon

that the dead man may have had.

Woman: Where'’s the gun?!

Man: Yeah, so this is, uh, the area

where, uh, my brother took his last breath.

I'’m pretty much at work, and I get a missed call

from my mom.

So she pretty much, uh, left me a voicemail

"When you get a chance, call me.

Uh, they killed your brother."

[Police radio chatter]

Kris, voice-over: Yeah, it was October, uh, 27th, a sunny day.

You got parents taking out their kids to the park.

My brother'’s hanging out, in, uh, on these benches,

uh, with his friends.

He'’s, uh, playing handball and basketball

like he normally does.

Around that time, there is a, uh, 20-year-old

local guy from the neighborhood,

uh, walking with his girlfriend.

He has, uh, gang ties. He'’s a little gang-related.

My brother sees the 20-year-old picking on a guy

way smaller than him and, uh, younger than him,

and at that point, he pretty much intervenes.

My brother sees two squad cars approaching,

and he just doesn'’t want to be involved.

He casually just, uh, walks to the tracks.

That'’s when the deputy sees my brother

headed towards, uh, Downey Avenue

and, uh, pretty much follows him in that direction.

So this is the location where my brother was at

when the deputy, uh, confronted him

and told, uh, my brother to pretty much put his hands up,

uh, and this is where eyewitnesses

pretty much stated that my brother already was

in the process of putting his hands up,

but Deputy Moreno said that he moved his hand too quickly,

and that'’s when he pretty much was shot

underneath his armpit.

We think my brother was at this point trying

to run from the bullet shots that were coming at him,

and he was shot from, uh, head to toe

and one shot in the back of the head.

We asked Deputy Moreno in the deposition

certain questions,

and one of the questions was, "Did you shoot him

because you believed he looked like a gang member?"

He said, "No."

"Did you shoot him because you believed

he was Mexican?"

He said, "No."

"Did you shoot him because you believed

he was under the influence of drugs?"

He said, "No."

"Did you shoot him because you believed

"he was a threat to those around him,

like the school district?"

Deputy Moreno said, "No.

"The only reason why I shot him is because

I thought he had a gun period."

My name is Omar Preza, and I'’ve been knowing Oscar

since I was little.

Uh, when I heard, uh, that he got killed

at Paramount Park, I couldn'’t believe it

because, you know, we used to play basketball there,

you know, growing up.

When I found out that he was unarmed,

it was shocking news.

Uh, the cops probably saw Oscar as, uh,

maybe another gang member.

You know, when--I think when the cops see,

you know, some Latinos or blacks or Asians,

whatever, like, together, you know, like,

they already assume "They'’re gang members."

That'’s what they assume.

Man: Several years ago, I looked at a map that was produced

by the, um, district attorney'’s office,

and at that time, Paramount was located

in an area of, uh, moderate gang activity regionally

and next to some areas with heavy gang activity.

These and--and these.

What'’s that for? What'’s that?

I got bullet shots. Got shot.

What gang are you a member of?

Sureno! West Side.

Man: GRIP stands for Gang Resistance is Paramount.

GRIP came about in 1982 because residents

of the city of Paramount were concerned,

uh, because of their kids getting involved

with gang activity.

GRIP wanted to work with kids

to keep them from ever becoming gangs in the first place.

If they'’re involved with gangs or hanging around with them

or their cousin'’s involved with gangs

or hanging around, um, if their cousin'’s a gang member,

they'’re gonna be identified as being a gang member

and not just by the police, by society in general,

by school officials.

Woman: ¿Qué queremos?

Crowd: ¡Justicia!

¿Cuando? ¡Ahora!

It'’s not fair

to what happened to me and my family.

Man: Based on the reporting that I'’ve done,

especially with this story that we did

that involved the Oscar Ramirez case,

it was mostly sort of parents

who just never really talked to their kids about it.

Uh, that never entered their mind.

It was more about "Go to school and do well in school,

get good grades, and don'’t get in trouble,"

and that sort of triggered this kind of nervousness

of, well, "Does this mean now we'’re included?

Should we be worried about how we act and speak around police?"

But most of the parents that I'’ve spoken to

for a very long time never really thought about this

until recently.

Serve and protect, my ass.

If you were serving and protecting,

he would still be alive.

Woman: Whoo!

[Horns honking]

If Oscar Ramirez had a weapon on him, where is it?

Where'’s the gun?

Where'’s the knife?

And to all the families that

are suffering right now...

Aquí estamos juntos.

We love each other.

Doesn'’t matter what race we are.

We'’re all doing the same fight and the same struggle.

Woman: That'’s right! Whoo!

[Beep] the police!

Oscar Ramirez!

Rest in peace!

Never forget!

[Beep] the police!

Oscar Ramirez!

Rest in peace!

Never forget!

[Beep] the police!

Oscar Ramirez!

Rest in peace!

Never forget!

My name is Diego, and I'’m Oscar'’s older brother

by two years,

and this is primarily where we come

at least, like, 5 times a week.

We just sit here, and, you know, we pray,

and we just think about Oscar,

and we just try to come to a conclusion,

you know, what happened, how to move on,

and how to do the best we can as a family

to honor his legacy.

What the police or sheriffs were pushing out

during that time was that he was a gang member,

he was up to no good, he was, um, homeless,

and it was just very confusing to me

because I--I knew the actual facts

that he wasn'’t a--a gangbanger, he wasn'’t a homeless guy.

Even though, like, he didn'’t have a job at the time,

he always wanted to pursue his education

and try to get into other trades.

People always hit a-- you know, a tough patch

in their life, and I think that'’s all

my brother was, uh, going through.

Diego: Hey, hey!

Ho, ho!

They killed Oscar without a gun.

Hey, hey! Ho, ho...

Vives: On the Latino community side,

the focus has been more on immigration

and, uh, rounding up the Latino community

tends to be a little bit more difficult, as well.

The emergence of this younger generation

tends to be more vocal.

They use social media to speak out,

whereas their parents, who were immigrants, came here,

they have a cultural view of law enforcement

that'’s a little different.

You know, they look at them with a sense of respect,

uh, sort of like you respect authority,

follow the rules, obey the law.

That has been the difference now that younger generations

coming up, they have their own voice,

they have their own ability to speak out.

Hands up! Don'’t shoot!

Hands up! Don'’t shoot!

Hands up! Don'’t shoot!

Man on P.A.: This is the police department.

You are violating a state-imposed curfew.

You must continue to disperse,

or you will be subject to arrest

and/or other actions.

Carrazco: When you encounter an officer,

I would say always make sure your hands are showing

because the minute one hand is not showing,

it'’s gonna give them a reason to possibly shoot

if they feel you are a threat,

regardless of whether or not they see a gun.

Uh, so always show your hands

because, I'’m telling you, in all these shootings

it'’s about the hands,

and if they don'’t see a hand,

they'’re gonna see you as a threat,

and that'’s gonna give them an excuse to shoot you,

and that'’s what'’s happened in almost all my cases.

[Police radio chatter]

Rath: "Los Angeles Times"

homicide reporter Nicole Santa Cruz.

She says that while attention to police shootings

of African-Americans have dominated the media,

incidents involving Latinos in particular

have received much less attention,

like the police shooting of Oscar Ramirez Jr.,

who was killed last fall in South L.A.

Now, in terms

of the actual numbers in Los Angeles County,

how--how do police shootings of Latinos compare

with other groups?

Santa Cruz: Well, over the past 5 years

in L.A. County,

coroner'’s data show that Latinos,

who make up about half

of the county'’s population,

also represent

about half of the people killed by police.

So far this year,

23 people have been fatally shot

by law enforcement in the county,

and 14 of those were Latino.

[indistinct prayers]

Men: Santa María, Madre de Dios, ruega por nosotros pecadores,

ahora y en la hora de nuestra muerete. Amén.

Gomez: Dios te salve, María. Llena eres de gracia:

El Señor es contigo.

Benadita tú eres entre todas las mujeres.

Y benedito es el fruto...

Kris: When my brother was buried,

it feels like our rights got buried away with his body,

and...

It'’s almost like waking up to a different world

and letting our kids know that there'’s a brighter future.

You just got to keep fighting for it.

You know, I remember recently talking to one of my friends,

a Jewish guy, and we were just talking,

and he said--he started asking me the questions

about some of the things that were happening,

and he was like, "Was any of these guys guilty of a crime?

"They had to be, right?

"We don'’t know the truth, say, uh, Michael Brown.

We don'’t know what happened,"

and he said--and I asked him,

"Well"--I said, "Have you ever had an" intercation--

"altercation with a police officer?"

And he said, "No."

I said, "Like pulled-- being pulled over.

Like, what is y'’all'’s conversation like?"

He said, "I never been pulled over."

"I mean, like, stopped on the street

"or in the middle of a fight or--

what was y'’all'’s conversation?"

"Never." "Wait, wait, wait."

I said, "So you never had--

you never got pulled over?"

I said, "Yo, what are we talking about here?"

I said, "So you really have no clue about this world

"that exists right here with you,

"sitting here with you.

"I'’ve been through the whole opposite.

So you never been arrested?"

He'’s like, "Nev--never."

I'’m like, "Yo, you have no idea the country

"that you live in because you'’re living

"in a protected situation.

We'’re out here in a war."

It'’s hard to explain that to somebody

who'’s never even had a police officer say,

"Stand back."

Crowd: Hands up! Don'’t shoot! Hands up! Don'’t shoot!

No justice, no peace!

Hands up! Don'’t shoot...

No justice, no peace!

Give us what we want... Give us what we want...

or we gonna give you hell.

or we gonna give you hell.

Woman: It is essential that the police department

take responsibility for the way in which

it'’s alienated people of color,

particularly African Americans, in this city.

Man: It'’s a broken city,

and there are appalling things that we'’re now

more directly aware of.

We have a kind of Apartheid justice system.

Man: These are some of the victims

that we advocate for.

All of them was shot and killed

by Chicago Police Department.

They all mean so much to our city,

and we gonn--we just out here trying to get

justice for all of them.

[Indistinct chatter]

Woman: How long you been making that?

Ever since 4:00 in the morning.

Ohh! So you been making it forever!

This is my last one.

Woman: Last one.

Different man: Bro, when you gonna make all that money,

buy some bigger pans, yo?

[Laughter]

My name is Maxwell Brown.

We'’re here for my graduation party.

I graduate Sunday, and I'’m 18 years old.

Yeah. This is my favorite nephew right here.

He making me proud.

He'’s graduating, staying out of trouble.

Yeah. Good young man.

Handsome, too. I'’m trying.

Ahh. Ha!

Woman: Well, that'’s my auntie.

She always been a good support to us.

I can remember being a little girl,

probably the age 14 and 15, always having her there

during high school times

and just being a big support for us,

and so she'’s a big influence in our family.

"If you was convinced that reincarnation was a fact,

how would you like to come back?"

Come back. That'’s a good question!

Man: That'’s Cathy to me.

That'’s my younger sister.

We grew up together on the same street,

Kerfoot, that she lives at now,

and we went to the neighborhood school,

and she'’s my reverend, and although

she'’s my younger sister, she'’s taught me

a lot of different things.

Nasty.

That'’s a good one, though.

Catherine: Myself!

[Laughter]

This is the love of my life,

my husband, my partner.

Only during interviews, I'’m the--no.

We'’ve been together for a long, long time.

We'’ve been together for a long time.

We have 3 children,

a--a 8-year-old, a 1-year-old,

and a 22-year-old.

This is Georgia, and this is Treasure.

I'’ve been in this neighborhood 41 years,

same block.

There is still quite a few people that live here.

We try to support each other

in, uh, as much as we can to keep

the block, you know, what it should be,

although it'’s not what we want it be. Yeah.

I'’m the founder and CEO of what we call

Neighborhood Rebuild,

starting to rebuild the neighborhood.

I work with the Sixth District Police

and the Seventh District Police Department.

We want to bridge the gap between the police

and the community so that we can be on one accord.

We want a peaceable neighborhood.

You know, it was just about bringing us together

so that we can renew the mind-sets of the young men

that were maybe doing wrong in the neighborhood,

give them support, so because you'’re an officer,

we expect for you to be double accountable

of how you carry yourself

because you'’re an example to these young men

on how to act,

and as I was a liaison

between the community and the police,

they used to teach us, and they taught us

"If you ever feel your life is in danger,

"if you ever feel that, you know, you'’re in harm--

"in any kind of harm'’s way,

there'’s 3 things that you should do."

So I'’m grateful that they taught me,

but I never would in a million years thought

I had to use what they taught me toward them.

We was all over to my neighbor'’s house.

My daughter was in the process of being potty-trained.

She needed to get those Pampers,

so we went on to Walmart, and, uh--me and my two girls,

and, uh, when we made it back to the block,

everybody was pretty much still outside.

Man: The two main police officers were--

Officer Michelle Morsi Murphy

and Officer Lopez--were out on a--

it looked like a routine night.

They had just turned their camera on,

and we don'’t have audio from their dashboard camera.

They stopped, and they'’re dealing with a man

who was passed out on the street,

and they--he gets back in the squad car,

and they just start moving at a--at a pretty good clip

down an alley.

Catherine: As we began to drive through the alley,

I blew my horn.

Luckily, I did blow because there was a car coming,

and I caught myself putting my blinker on,

so I--you know, I hit my brights,

so I waved at the officer, and I say, uh,

"Hi. I live right here. I'’m going to my driveway.

He was--you know, he asked me one question--

"Why do you have your bright lights on?"

And I noticed, "Oh, I do have my bright lights on."

So I just flicked them off.

The passenger on the other side jumps out of the car, screaming,

and saying, B, "...move that..." effing "car back."

The first thing the other officer did was

get out of the car.

He walks over to the passenger'’s side.

She is threatening me, to Mace me,

telling me I better "open the [effing] door,"

and so the only thing I could think to do

was lock the door, let the window up, and dial 911,

and that'’s what I did.

So I'’m telling the 911 "The officer'’s name is..."

Then I began to dial my neighbors.

So I don'’t know if I hung up or clicked over or what.

Nobody answered the phone, so I dialed 911 back again.

The officer realizes, "Yeah,

she'’s reporting what I'’m doing."

She decides to ask me for my license.

I cracked my window.

I reached for my purse,

and I look to my left...

This lady is sticking something down in my window...

popped the lock, and pulled the door.

Girl on 911 call, screaming: Mommy!

Catherine: I grab the door, like "No, no, no, no, no!"

Officer Lopez, he'’s standing in front of the car.

Pulls out his gun.

[Girls screaming]

So all I could thing of is, "If you kill me,

you'’re gonna do it in front of everybody."

[Catherine screaming on 911 call]

Move back, move back!

They pulled a gun out on us.

Oh, no! Aah!

[Indistinct yelling]

Catherine, voice-over: The lady tells my daughter,

"Get out of the car."

I try to stop her,

but she put her hands straight in the air

and runs straight

to the neighbor'’s.

I'’m trying to reach back to take the seatbelt

off of the baby.

I didn'’t know she Maced me.

Catherine on 911 call: Police ain'’t gonna go near my kids!

Morsi: ...hands on the wheel now!

[Sirens]

[conversation continues, indistinct]

Catherine: Please don'’t shoot...

Lopez: Get out of the car!

[Radio chatter]

911 dispatcher: Hello?

Catherine, voice-over: After they drag me,

they begin to beat me.

[Catherine screaming on 911 call]

911 dispatcher: Hello?

Catherine, voice-over: I have no guns, I have nothing

but me and my two babies.

What in the world is going on?

Well, as we'’ve covered many stories out of Chicago

about how unbelievably crazy and wilding out

the cops are there, but here'’s a story

that is just--continues how unbelievable,

stunning, and crazy things are in that city.

A female pastor viciously beaten and attacked

by several Chicago police officers,

captured on a dash cam video.

Catherine: So I'’m in the jail for, like, 3 days.

When I get to bond court, he said,

"You'’re being charged for attempted first-degree murder."

Now, I'’m looking like, "What?!"

Man: The officers allege that when Catherine

backed up her car, Catherine was somehow holding

Officer Morsi by the back of the collar,

so that'’s where they'’re saying the attempted murder came from.

Savini: Catherine Brown'’s case is kind of complicated.

The camera angles that were shot from the dashboard camera

just don'’t show what this female officer claimed

Catherine Brown did to her,

and she has no audio to back herself up,

so either the Chicago Police didn'’t record the audio

like they'’re supposed to,

or they did record it and somebody destroyed it.

When we have an encounter with the police,

we know going in two things.

They have all the power,

and the second thing is we know that if something happens,

if the encounter goes south, if it gets ugly,

we won'’t be believed.

The police officer has to excuse his or her conduct,

and the way to excuse his or her conduct

is to arrest the person,

hope they'’re found guilty of something,

and then if they'’re found guilty of something,

oftentimes the police conduct is excused.

Catherine, voice-over: I ordered a police camera,

trying to catch, you know, wrongdoing in the neighborhood

and stuff like that.

I asked them to put it down on the other end of the block,

but for some reason, got put down here

on my end of the block.

And I thank God for that camera

because it showed that not only did I not drag

an officer with my car,

but it also showed that I went in reverse

trying to do the right thing, go back in front of my house,

not escape,

so I did exactly what the police taught me

down through the years--

get to safety, so I backed out of there.

Number two, dial 911,

and number 3, get witnesses.

They go and do an honorable job.

It'’s a tough job, it'’s often a thankless job,

um, but you tell people to--to obey police officers.

What do you do, though, when a police officer goes rogue?

What do you do?

You--you tell them to do kind of what Catherine Brown did.

We will improve communication between officers

and individuals to make these encounters

less confrontational and more conversational.

Kalven: The mayor appointed a taskforce in Chicago

that issued a really strong and scathing report

that, um--I think it'’s a hundred-odd recommendations

that they make.

Certain recommendations, though, have priority over others,

and one of them is, um, there has to be discipline

of abusive officers.

Accountability has priority.

It'’s been over a month since we exposed the story,

and the city of Chicago still will not tell us

if Officer Michelle Morsi Murphy is still employed,

if she still has a gun and a badge,

or if she'’s under suspension and serving

in another department off the streets.

They won'’t tell us.

At the end of the day, it'’s about creating conditions

where harms that would otherwise have occurred won'’t occur.

I mean, that'’s the nature of human rights work.

Fox: They charged Catherine Brown

with two counts of attempted murder.

They charged her with-- I believe it was two counts

of aggravated assault.

She was acquitted of everything.

Uh, they found her guilty of reckless conduct,

which was the lowest charge they can find her guilty of,

and it basically was because she backed her car away.

And when you back your car away

and you possibly endanger somebody while doing it,

uh, you can be guilty of reckless conduct.

Till this day, I still feel that sometimes,

like, if I'’d have been there,

that might have been me in the alley,

and it might have been a different outcome,

or they wouldn'’t have been outside

and things like that,

so my kids, you know, still have their mother,

still have their father, so we got to be a voice

for the ones that, you know, won'’t say anything.

We have to be the voice for the Laquan McDonalds,

Mike Brown, and--and countless other people

that, you know, can'’t speak for themselves anymore,

the families that are too afraid to speak

and not just in Chicago but across our country, so...

Kevin: Thank you for coming because this is such a need

in our community, making sure that police

police us and not abuse us.

Catherine: That'’s why we named this Community Unity Now

because we wanted to bring the community

and the police together

because we are in such a, you know, trying time right now.

And don'’t y'’all sit down and don'’t get involved

in the movement because we need you all,

and we gonna get some peace and love

back into our community.

Amen? Amen!

It'’s unfortunate that we have to come to crisis

to come together, but if that'’s what comes of it,

then people have not lost what they'’ve lost in vain,

and so I'’m applauding you just for being here.

We have a great panel, very diverse,

and very, um--very in this work.

They are--they are here with you not just tonight.

Hi. I'’m Zerlina Smith.

I am the vice chair of Violence Interrupter.

What I do in my full-time and my off time

is stand on my corner and police my community.

[applause]

Kevin: I don'’t care who'’s policing the neighborhood.

The police in general have to understand

that every black face that you see is not a criminal,

and once they start understanding that,

then we'’ll start seeing differences.

We need more black officers in our neighborhoods

that can relate, that understand our culture,

that understand how we act and not how we operate.

Robinson: That said, can we please give,

uh, Captain Darling a hand for--for being among us?

He--he'’s quiet, and I hope that'’s because

he'’s taking all this in and thinking about ways

that, uh--that he can incorporate some

of these suggestions.

I think they should live in the communities.

I think when they are serving in the communities,

when they come-- when they come out,

they live in the community because if you have

Officer Doe living next door too Pookie and Ray-Ray,

he'’s less likely to possibly shoot them.

Catherine: If we continue to let them, shoot, kill,

disrespect, beat, and disrupt our communities

and then go have a cheeseburger,

then of course we'’re gonna continue to have what we have,

a serious problem.

In my opinion, we can have a good police force,

but the only way that we'’re going to get that

is by making an example out of the police

that do corrupt things.

If every police officer-- you can clap.

It'’s all good because it'’s the truth.

[applause]

Smith: My advice to my daughter is to make sure

that you can carry your own.

Keep your hands on the steering wheel,

say, "Sir," "Yes, sir," "No, sir."

Let them know to stay calm, think.

Did I have a conversation with my nephew?

I did not, and I regret that now.

His life was ended.

He was shot in the back

by the Chicago Police Department.

Catherine: Let me go back to why I fight.

My 1-year-old and my 8-year-old has to know

that they can be served and protected by police,

not neglected and disrespected by police.

[Indistinct chatter]

Boy: Can we have a race?

Man: You gonna race me?

No, I'’m gonna--yeah.

Kevin: God just blessed them that they didn'’t die,

they didn'’t die at the hands of police in that alley,

that, you know, my kids, you know, still have their mother.

Catherine: That'’s part of the fight.

I have to let my daughters know that eventually one day,

we'’ll get to a place where they can feel

that Officer Friendly is back, you know,

and that they can trust that they can dial 911

and the police will come and not harm them but help them.

You know, so that'’s the purpose of the fight for me.

I'’m in Utah, going to the Sundance Film Festival

for the first time,

and my dumb ass says, "I'’m gonna rent a car."

Heh heh heh.

I mean, I'’m a California guy. I'’ve never driven in snow.

I'’m driving in snow, driving in snow.

Maybe my driving may have been erratic,

and now there'’s snow like this, like this, right?

And I go in, and I get stopped,

and then one car stops, a police car stops,

and says, "Can I--you know, you'’re driving erratic."

I said, "Oh, I'’m not used to driving in snow,"

but I'’m a black man in Utah.

I'’m driving, right?

He says--he says, "I'’m gonna run a check on you," right?

So he goes back to his car.

Another car comes up.

They had me waiting for so long.

I'’m like--and I'’m thinking to myself,

"Is it gonna end here?"

It'’s like, "Did I--did I-- you know, did I talk

all this [beep] in my movies?"

Guy comes to my car, gives me my license back,

and he says, "I like your movies."

[Interviewer laughing]

I said, "Thank you very much, officer."

Ha ha ha! I had to-- and I went on off

to where I had to go,

but--but you grow-- that'’s the way you grew up.

You think any interaction you'’re gonna have

with police could be your last.

[helicopter]

[Sirens]

[Ping]

Reporter: Officer Allen Jacobs never took the gun

out of his holster.

Uh, Chief Miller says, "The holster was still snapped."

Man: It'’s been a humbling experience.

In the midst of a tragic loss of a wonderful police officer,

father, husband, son, friend, and brother

full of integrity and passionate about his job.

Allen, you were a phenomenal police officer.

Different man: Fire.

Ready...

Different man: I can just tell you it'’s a young,

28-year-old police officer

who'’s been shot and killed in the line of duty

and leaves a young wife with two small boys

and who'’s pregnant with their third child

to be delivered in--in July.

Present! Present!

Up!

Man: It happens too often,

and, uh--ahem-- it'’s real easy again,

you know, to get critical of or criticize

the law enforcement officers and--and what they do,

but it'’s difficult, too,

when you don'’t seem to hear the same hue and cry

when an officer falls.

Man: Even though we train a lot of people,

thousands a year, when we lose one in the field,

it--it hits home here

because it'’s part of the family.

Trainees: ♪ Rita, Rita, you'’re crazy ♪

♪ Hey, out of your mind ♪

♪ Rita, you'’re out of your mind ♪

♪ Hey, hey, Captain Jack ♪

♪ Hey, hey, Captain Jack ♪

♪ Meet me down by the railroad track ♪

♪ Meet me down by the railroad track... ♪

♪ With that knife in my hand... ♪

Man: There'’s two forms of training in law enforcement.

There'’s the academy or police training facility,

and then there'’s the real-life training

that takes place on the street,

and many officers felt that, you know, they would

rather be tried by 12 than carried by 6,

meaning "I would rather make a mistake

"and, um, shoot someone and think later

"than have someone carry my coffin

because I was slow to move."

Man: Remember to scan to the right and left

and then reholster.

Watch your target.

[Firing pistol]

Different man: This is week 12, and it'’s been very busy,

doing a lot of things from defensive tactics

to, as you can see today, weapons,

and this afternoon, we'’re gonna go ahead

and clear, um, additional buildings.

Man: A police mind-set must be you should be prepared

to react on the drop of a dime

and you should have some instincts,

some warrior-soldier instincts in you,

but understand that your primary duty and obligation

is public service.

That should be first and foremost.

Yeah. Well, my husband'’s supposed to be

fixing my washing machine.

He talking about he going fishing in here...

Man: I'’m just trying to leave and get out of here.

but I know one thing, he ain'’t leaving this house,

and he is not going fishing till this

dang old washing machine is fixed.

I'’m just trying to leave and get--

Woman, voice-over: We signed up for this, knowing that we'’re

going out to serve our community and protect everybody in it

regardless of what the outcome may be.

Roberts: Sir, if you'’d do me a favor,

you can just step over here and talk to my partner.

I'’ll talk to your wife for just a second.

Ma'’am, come on-- come on over here.

I mean, let'’s talk.

All right. So what happened? Tell me--tell me...

Yarborough: If they'’re doing the right things,

the scenario goes one way.

If the officer is escalating the situation,

the instructors in the scenario

will escalate the situation.

Babe, I'’ll be back. I am gone.

Oh, you not getting ready to go nowhere.

You gonna fix this washing machine, John.

I'’m out of here.

Panties? Is that panties?

Adams: What people often don'’t know,

a domestic violence complaint,

which is one of the most dangerous assignments

a cop can go on.

You don'’t know what you are walking into,

and so the most important thing to do is to be tactical.

Grabbing the weapon, securing it,

running it to check and make sure that it'’s not stolen,

hadn'’t been used in the commission of a crime,

and then at that point, can we lawfully keep that gun?

No. No.

Adams: A professional understands the dangers

that are involved in his job,

he understands he makes split-second decisions,

and he must make the right decision

at the right time.

Dispatch, this is unit one.

Initiating a traffic stop on a black 4-door sedan,

license plate Victor-Uniform-Juliet-Alpha.

We are on Main Street at...

Man: Traffic stops are really dangerous.

We don'’t know what we'’re getting into.

We have seconds, maybe a minute,

to evaluate a situation based on the view

through a back window

to gather information on the person

that we'’re stopping.

...Sheriff'’s office. How you feeling today? You all right?

Driver: I'’m doing good, man, doing good.

A little nervous about being pulled over?

Yeah. I just--I get-- I get real nervous when I get pulled...

Roberts: There'’s no such thing as a routine traffic stop.

Every traffic stop is different.

Your adrenaline starts going,

"What--you know, what'’s going on? What'’s happening?

"Is it, you know, a sweet 80-year-old lady

"who just doesn'’t, you know, know that she ran a stop sign?

Is it an armed robbery suspect?" You don'’t know.

We have conflicts of personality, of background,

and sometimes, it takes a turn for the worst.

The Mark Coates video is a video what we use in training

here during our traffic stop training

in week 9.

He was a trooper that was killed in the line of duty

here in South Carolina.

We use that video because it--it shows

a lot of tactical errors.

When the suspect gets out of the vehicle,

we need to get them to the rear of the vehicle.

and control his movement while he'’s outside the vehicle,

and that'’s one of the things Mark didn'’t do.

Whoa! Hey!

Rach: It was the tactical errors that we see

that ended up costing Mark his life.

Lanier: It'’s a dangerous job.

There'’s no if, ands, or buts about it.

There are aspects of this job that are going to put

police officers in harm'’s way.

I don'’t know, man.

It'’s all right.

[Car door jar signal]

Roberts: He'’s got a gun! Gun, gun, gun!

Sir, sir, don'’t move, don'’t move, don'’t move!

Put your hands on top.

Keel: Almost everybody'’s carrying a gun now...

Sir, are you lying to me?

and they know that each time they encounter somebody.

Let them know I got one-- one under arrest.

Keel: When I came into this business in 1979,

I was working, uh, narcotics, I was working undercover,

doing street-level buys.

Nobody I ever bought off of hardly had a gun back then.

We--we just didn'’t-- I didn'’t even encounter

people with guns.

Today, everybody'’s got a gun.

You got anything on you that'’s

gonna hurt me other than this gun?

Naw, man. Naw. Huh?

Naw, naw.

Rach: Whenever you hollered, "Gun,"

it came out, and you guys were a straight line,

all right, and it took you a second to realize it

because it was like, "Woop," tunnel vision,

and it comes back open, and you'’re like,

"Oh, [beep]. That'’s my partner."

All right? Come on and step back over here,

and I don'’t want to do my search, like, right here.

I'’m doing it right there on camera.

Always on camera,

always, always, always on camera.

That video camera is to cover your ass.

Roberts, voice-over: I can see where anybody that'’s pulled over

would be in peril.

I can see that that'’s a scary situation for anybody.

I'’ve been pulled over.

It is very scary to be driving down the road

and have blue lights and sirens

light up in your mirror.

[Sirens]

Woman: A few months ago, my son came in the house.

I heard the door bust open,

and he was like, "Mom, Mom!"

He fell out across the bed.

I said, "What'’s the matter?"

He says, "Oh, my God. I was just so scared."

I said, "What happened?"

He said, "I was stopped by the police."

I said, "OK. Well, what happened?"

He says, "Mom, do you see what'’s going on in the news?

"They'’re killing young black men.

I didn'’t know if something was gonna happen to me."

As a mom, as a retired member of law enforcement,

that broke my heart,

and when I told his father, it broke his heart, too.

We were both police officers for over 21 years,

and here our child is running in,

scared to death of the police?

Well, we didn'’t have the relationship

where it'’s like, "Hi. How are you doing today, officer?

Would you like some coffee?"

You know, uh, "Here, young man. Here'’s a lollipop."

There'’s a different reality that black folks have faced

when dealing and engaging with police than whites have.

I'’d be burying my head in the sand to think

that we don'’t have racism in--in law enforcement.

It does exist.

Uh, it exists all over the United States,

uh, but that doesn'’t mean that we can'’t make efforts

to eliminate racism.

Woman: Cultural diversity at the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy

is just that--it'’s cultural, it'’s diversity.

We talk about everything--

people'’s prejudices, their beliefs,

their thought process.

We want to, if anything else, to get them to think

outside of the box,

step outside your comfort zone.

Oftentimes-- everyone has a bias,

but a lot of the time, it'’s nothing that

they'’re trying to be ugly about.

It'’s just "That'’s how I was raised,

so I don'’t know any different."

Um, I'’ve heard students say, "I didn'’t grow around

anyone white,"

"I didn'’t grow up around anyone black."

Instructor, voice-over: It'’s designed to bring out

the officers'’ attitudes about how they feel

about different groups in society,

and it--it forces them to face some of the demons

they have and overcome some of those things

so that they can do a better job,

a more thorough job, and a more fair job

on the street.

Adams: It is a misconception for people to believe

that we don'’t see race, we don'’t see color,

we don'’t see economics,

and part of that training is more than looking

at what'’s in front of you

but also look at what is behind you,

the life that you lived

that causes you to make decisions

based on your predispositions.

It'’s decision-making for you,

and what you'’re gonna have are scenarios

on the screen.

I'’ll show you one here in a little bit

so you can see what it looks like.

You got to treat it like the real world.

You got put yourself in that scenario.

All right. Drop it in that holster.

Here we go.

Yo, officer man! You got to do something!

My girlfriend'’s crazy! She stabbed me, man!

She cut me, man! She'’s freaking!

Where'’s she at?

She'’s crazy. The bitch is gonna cut you, too.

Where is she at?

Help. She'’s right there. She'’s got a knife...

Shut up!

Drop the knife. Drop the knife!

Ma'’am, I need you to drop the knife!

He'’s out there drinking and spending

all his money on the beer, not our kids!

I understand, I understand.

Just drop the knife, and we can talk about it.

Thank you. Ohh.

You know, you people really piss me off.

I...I understand.

Can I go get it--like, go talk to her, approach her?

Ask her to come back and talk to me? OK.

You recognize this. What does she want to do?

She wants to let me know her--what issues

she has with him.

She wants to vent to you.

Yeah. Yep.

And you recognized that right away,

and he--he kind of-- he brought it back

just a little bit.

It wasn'’t, "Drop the knife, drop the knife,

drop the knife!"

It was, "Hey. How about drop the knife, then we can talk."

Yeah. That'’s what we got to do.

She'’s got do drop the knife before you can talk.

Excellent.

Woman in video: I'’m not gonna take it!

Lee: Ma'’am, I understand. Just drop the knife,

and we can talk about it.

Thank you.

Gilliam: Bam! Shot her right there.

What if you had done that?

That wouldn'’t have been justified yet...

Yarborough: In order for an officer to utilize

deadly force, the weapon, they have to be justified.

They have to have all the elements present--

ability, opportunity, and jeopardy.

You just saw a flash come out from behind her back.

Yeah, I did.

And you got-- you had relaxed.

Did y'’all see him? He relaxed,

and he was like, "Oh, man,"

when she came back out with that bottle right there.

That would be that quarter second

you had to make a decision.

"Holy crap. Is that a bottle or is that a gun?"

Yarborough: There'’s no aiming for the hand like in the movies

or trying to shoot someone in the leg

like you see in the movies.

That doesn'’t happen.

Only the skilled, highly trained

law enforcement officers do that type of thing.

The regular officer on the street

with just a handgun, they'’re going to shoot

for center mass of the target

that they have available,

and they are shooting to eliminate the threat.

We don'’t want to do anything like that.

None of us do...

but oftentimes, we'’ve got to be more reactive

than proactive, certainly in this type of situation.

I'’ve got to see what that is,

see what'’s going on with that thing.

So get the whole story.

Don'’t assume that something is what it appears to be

because it very seldom is.

Whole story.

[Sighs]

Ha ha ha!

Good job! All right.

Melvin, voice-over: As a law enforcement officer,

I want to ensure that we respect our community

and respect in one another.

When we decide to go into a community

and violate those citizens,

then they don'’t have our trust anymore.

[Firing pistol]

Lanier: You can'’t have individuals out there

that abuse the authority that they have.

We refer to them sometimes as being badge-heavy.

Stay back. Come on, man!

My baby'’s sick. What'’s up with the guns?

Lanier: They use the badge.

It'’s almost like a club to them.

They use that authority to scare people.

We had an incident, um, probably almost two years ago

where a young African American man was shot

by a state trooper,

and this young man didn'’t do anything,

um, and he was shot, and he actually had

his hands up when he was shot at.

[Firing pistol]

Claxton: The Levar Jones shooting,

there you have an individual finds himself the victim

of gunfire.

He was shot because he followed the specific instructions

of Trooper Groubert.

Lott: The shooting of Mr. Jones had a lot to do

with the trooper had been in a previous shooting,

where someone had gotten out of a car and shot at him.

He had that warrior mind-set in a millisecond.

PTSD played a big part in it.

That doesn'’t say that the trooper was,

um, justified in doing what he did,

and that'’s not an excuse for it,

but it'’s something that'’s real that we have to admit

and we have to address.

He was terminated, he was arrested,

and he'’s now pled guilty to the charge.

Lanier: I think there'’s about a 21% failure rate,

and the academy is like a gatekeeper.

Now, does that mean that we catch everybody that comes

through here that shouldn'’t be in law enforcement?

Absolutely not.

Man: Do not resist. Woman: I know.

Get out of the car!

I'’m getting out. Let me get out.

Do not touch me. Do not touch me...

Yarborough: The trainers talk about the videos a lot.

Some of those conversations get very heated.

An African American instructor may feel as though

it was simply racial, whereas a white instructor

may feel as though the officer responded

in a just and justified manner.

Lott: I think the videos is making law enforcement

across the nation better

because now people do see what we'’re doing,

and they should see what we'’re doing.

Ma'’am, please. Do not touch me!

Do not to--press me. Do not touch me...

Claxton: It really exposes a tremendous vulnerability

that we have as citizens,

especially when you have poor tactics

or poor judgment on the part

of your law enforcement professionals.

Lott: We'’ve had some very bad incidents happen

in Richland County that could have exploded.

We could have had a Ferguson or a Baltimore here,

and the reason why we didn'’t is the relationship

that we'’ve developed with the community,

and they know if a police officer does

something wrong, quick, swift action

is gonna be taken against that officer.

We don'’t tolerate it.

I got some...

electrical tape because, uh, last week,

we did lose an officer, um, from Greenville,

so it'’s a show of respect to wear in front

of your badge like so.

It'’s just a sign of respect for, um, the fallen officer.

McCants: OK. Listen carefully.

Today, you become law enforcement officers.

The things you used to do you can'’t do anymore, OK?

Today starts today.

Places you used to go you may not be able to go anymore.

Start thinking like a law enforcement officer, OK?

Stay on guard, stay true to your training.

All right?

Trainees: Yes, ma'’am!

All right. We don'’t want to ready about any

of you guys in the paper.

Hear me well.

Do not go out there and do something dumb.

Do not become a dumbass and tarnish your badge.

Tame tongue, humble heart, sincere soul.

That'’s what law enforcement'’s about.

You understand?

Yes, ma'’am!

All right. Go forth. Be safe.

Man: ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪

♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪

♪ Wha, oh, whoa, whoa ♪

♪ Wha, oh, whoa, whoa ♪

Garel: Who should be a police officer?

I believe someone who'’s open-minded,

someone who'’s dedicated to making a difference,

someone who really wants to do right

by the citizens of the community

that they'’re serving.

Man: ♪ 6'’5" and looking good ♪

Trainees: ♪ 6'’5" and looking good ♪

♪ Oh, to be in Hollywood ♪

♪ Oh, to be in Hollywood... ♪

Claxton: I am proud to say that I was a police officer,

but until we get to the point in law enforcement

and understanding that there may be cultural differences

but there cannot be reactions, uh,

and enforcement models based upon race,

you ostracize the community that you hope to serve,

that you you are obligated to serve and protect.

Man: Carey C. Roberts of the Richland County Sheriff'’s Department

being presented her certification

by her mentor, Deputy Director Mike Lanier.

[Applause]

Lanier, voice-over: The biggest attribute

in a police officer if he'’s gonna be good at the job,

he'’s got to be willing to serve other people.

He'’s got to have a servant'’s heart.

Congratulations. Thank you, sir.

You did a good job with this class.

Melvin: We have come so far

from the very first week to now.

You will be referred to as law enforcement officers,

no less as guardians of the public safety.

Man: Class leader, release your class for the last time.

Bring the class into service.

[Bell rings]

Dismissed!

[Cheering]

Adams: Policing and law enforcement

is a noble profession, and oftentimes,

it is a calling.

We have two rights that even

the president of the United States

does not possess.

We can take life, we can take liberty,

and we must go under the highest level

of scrutiny in order to retain that.

[Cheering and applause]

We were watching the Ferguson--

waiting for the, uh-- the announcement

of what was gonna happen with the indictment,

and it was, you know, the protestors outside,

and my son, who at the time was 6, I believe, um, Pops--

we call him--Beau-- we call him Pops--

he turned around, and he looked

at me and my wife, and the whole family

was sitting around watching, waiting to see what happens,

and he says, "Why are these people so mad?"

Ahem. And--and for me, it started--

like, it set something off in me

because I wanted to say how I felt,

and my wife looked, and she was--

you know, she kind of gave me

the "We have to meter this a little bit

because he'’s young, and he has to understand,"

and it started just an idea of, like, how much

do you give your kids based on your experiences

and based on what you'’ve been taught

but at the same time give them hope

to have a world--a world-- that they'’re gonna

live in a world that doesn'’t, you know--

isn'’t as fatalistic as you may sometimes

view it for yourself.

Martin Luther King Jr.: I'’m delighted to see

each of you here tonight

in spite of a storm warning.

Woman: The stories that you'’re going to hear from this panel,

they are not isolated incidences.

The black men who are here I guarantee you

they had this conversation with their parents,

and if they have sons,

they have had the conversation with them.

All right, all right.

Good to see you. Good to see you.

Nice to see you.

Woman: It'’s so much a part of our nature.

It'’s so ingrained that we can'’t let our sons

out of our front doors without giving them instructions

on how to come back alive.

We have done 16 of these talks

around the St. Louis region.

The panelists traveled here from Memphis

to broaden the community and make you a part

of healing what is going so wrong in America right now.

[Applause]

Lester Holt: There is growing outrage tonight

after an unarmed African American teenager

was shot and killed by police in the St. Louis suburb

of Ferguson, Missouri.

Griffin: After Michael Brown

was killed, I was there

at the prayer vigil,

and I was one of the speakers,

so I was towards the front.

There were so many people behind me,

and many of them were white.

I could just feel they had been given a wakeup call.

Out of that came this compulsion to expand that conversation

to reach more people.

And I was calling before we head out for Parent2Parent.

Are you going to be able to make it?

I am Christi Griffin.

I am a retired attorney who founded the Ethics Project

in 2007 to address the injustices

of our criminal justice system.

When I moved with my son into an all-white community,

I did not expect him to ever be in trouble,

but they don'’t have to be.

They don'’t have to do anything, which is the problem,

and so when the police officer pulled him over,

I just happened to be with him.

I heard something in my son'’s voice

I did not realize existed.

He knew he had not done anything wrong.

I heard an anger.

He wasn'’t disrespectful, but my son kept asking him

"What did I do?"

And I have absolutely no doubt in my mind

that had I not been there, that situation

would have escalated to where my son

was constantly harassed to the point

that something would have happened,

and the policeman never even attempted

to give an excuse for pulling him over.

You can'’t trust the people who are paid

to serve and protect you,

so take your driver'’s license out right now.

I don'’t want you reaching into your back pocket.

I don'’t want for any reason

to have to get a phone call that tells me

my son has been killed by a police officer

because he "feared" for his life

because my son reached for his wallet.

Man: It'’s like a jungle sometimes.

It makes me wonder how I keep from going under.

Don'’t push me because I'’m close to the edge.

I'’m trying not to lose my head.

It'’s like a jungle sometimes.

It makes me wonder how I keep from going under.

Griffin: By raising awareness, we want the audience

to be the change agents.

They are the ones that says, "No.

"I'’m not going to tolerate this.

It'’s not right."

I am terrified to have a child.

I am afraid to have a child in this world

and still have to have this conversation.

I don'’t want you to be afraid to have a child

because I am dedicated and not even tired.

I'’m--I'’m willing to work for change

so that you don'’t have to have this conversation,

so that you don'’t have to be afraid,

but part of the reason why we are

where we are right now

is because we'’ve been afraid.

Here we are at this place

where they assassinated one of America'’s heroes.

He wasn'’t everybody'’s hero, but he was ours,

and that made us afraid.

I'’m not afraid.

I'’m afraid if we do nothing,

I'’m gonna bury my kid,

and I'’m willing to die before I do that.

[Applause]

Woman: In addition, I just want to add to that,

um, we need our white allies

to stop being allies and become accomplices.

So I heard this from a young activist,

and that was immediately a moment that he'’s spot on.

We talk about we'’re allies.

We can go in and out if it'’s convenient for us,

but for an accomplice, that means that

you'’re all in,

and you'’re willing to put something on the line.

[Choir vocalizing]

Francis: My name is Leah Gunning Francis.

I'’m a professor at Eden Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.

I hope I never forget the time

when I was pregnant with our first son.

My husband and I were so excited,

and we'’re walking into the doctor'’s office,

but I stopped in my tracks.

I see a young African American about 12 or 13 years old.

His hands were in handcuffs,

and his feet were shackled,

and that just broke my heart wide open.

To have a black boy growing inside of my body,

that was sort of a first awakening for me,

um, about what it might mean to raise a black boy

in the United States of America.

[Laughter]

[Indistinct chatter]

Boy: Hey. I wasn'’t ready.

Hi. How are you? Good.

Hey, guys...

Francis, voice-over: I am married to a pastor,

and he and I have two little sons.

They are 8 and 9 years old.

Hup! Hey!

Racism is still running amok in this country,

but we are working to do everything we can

to call for change.

Oh, nice hit!

Got a little Jackie Robinson there.

You know the name?

Yes! How about Babe Ruth?

Francis, voice-over: We live in St. Louis City,

only 11 miles from Ferguson.

Francis: All right.

Wash your hands, please, with soap.

Desmond, do you want a snack,

or are you gonna get started on your work?

Francis, voice-over: And the events that contributed

to Michael Brown'’s death are not unique to Ferguson,

and that'’s what I want people to walk away with the most.

For so many white people because of having

the privilege of white skin, which affords them

the opportunity to be given the benefit of the doubt,

to not be automatically assumed to be suspicious or guilty

or up to no good,

they'’re largely unaware of the ways

in which black people and people of color

are at first glance perceived in that way.

It'’s not about being colorblind,

but rather, our sons'’ demand to be treated

as full human beings

who are worthy of dignity and respect.

And so as my children are getting older,

gradually, we'’re going to have these talks with them.

"Because you are African American,

"people might not be willing to see you as just a child

"or to see you as just a teenager

"but might first believe that you'’re up to something no good

and not willing to give you the benefit of the doubt."

My husband and I are in that space now

of trying to figure out when we start

having those conversations.

Griffin: I think if you look at the history

of the relationship of police

and the African American community,

it'’s been broken for a very long time.

Historically after slavery ended,

the Black Laws were created to fill

the jail systems.

[Men shouting]

Discrimination, false arrest,

frequent stops and frisks.

There naturally has grown a great distrust

between police and African Americans.

[Indistinct shouting]

[Siren]

It'’s not that I have ever been in any way antipolice.

[Indistinct shouting]

I am definitely against policing

in the way that we have seen it

in police who are violating their code of ethics,

who are violating the law,

who are violating individuals'’ human rights

and civil rights.

Woman: Hey.

Man: How was your day?

Very good.

How was yours?

And I thought about Abdul a lot today.

I don'’t know why,

but I think about him most days,

but, uh, I thought about him today. Ahem.

The way I look at it, Abdul is...

just not in my presence,

not dead,

just not in my presence...

I--I--I share that.

and so the laughter, the jokes,

that'’s who he was.

We will take this fight as far as we

have to take it

so the accountability falls on the officers

that murdered him.

Amatullah-Matin: A gunshot wound

of the head,

a partial entrance wound

to the upper chest,

shrapnel wound to the left upper lip,

a gunshot wound

of the left upper chest,

two gunshot wounds to the forearm,

a gunshot wound of the left buttocks,

a gunshot wound

to the left thigh,

a gunshot wound

to the right lower thigh,

and a gunshot wound

to the shoulder and the back.

And that is

what 4 Irvington police officers

sent for my husband and I

and my stepson'’s mother to bury.

On November 11, 2013,

Abdul-Wakil Kamal was killed--

by these 4 officers-- unarmed

with nothing more than his cell phone.

Amatullah-Matin: Ha ha ha!

This is my baby.

Woman: The car?

Uh-huh. It'’s one of the things

Abdul and I shared--

cars and, believe it or not, rap music.

Abdul was my--

besides my husband-- my best friend.

And I--I was his stepmom, yeah,

but I wasn'’t that much older than him.

I mean, we struggled.

I mean, we went to therapy--

Mohammed and I--

uh, grief therapy, just trying to be able

to get through the day.

Um, someone hurts your child,

and there'’s nothing you can do about it,

and it'’s--it'’s devastat--

that'’s devastating, I think, enough,

because you always want to feel like

you can at least fight for them,

which is why I think we do what we do now

is try to fight for the unheard.

Kamal: You want to see

some pictures of Abdul?

Let me--let me get these pictures.

This is a really nice picture of me and him.

Oh, my God. Let me see.

That'’s nice.

We was in the park on Sunday.

He went to private school.

He was smart.

Anything that any kid do, he thought

he should be able to do it.

Good Lord. He was just cute right here.

That'’s really cute.

Oh, look at this picture.

Holding Kalil.

Kalil'’s a big boy now.

That'’s him with his daughter.

Man.

His daughter and his stepson.

This is all--meant everything to him.

Me and Abdul, we used to talk a lot.

He told one time, When he died, he was gonna die

in a--in a hail of bullets,

and I never forgot that,

and I thought about it when he was killed,

and it'’s true.

One of the things about the night he got killed

that I will probably go to my grave regretting

is that I didn'’t get on the phone

to talk to him.

He had already started drinking alcohol.

He gets to his wife'’s house.

She wouldn'’t open the door,

but at the same time, she can see him.

She calls the police.

The cops show up with their guns drawn.

They didn'’t even investigate what was going on,

and I'’m talking less than 5 minutes,

Abdul was dead.

We had the wrong talk.

Our talk was, "You don'’t fear them."

That'’s what our talk was.

As a parent,

I thought I was doing the right thing.

You know, I--I talk-- I have him

a false con--concept, actually.

"You are just as good as any other--"

No, you'’re not.

No, you'’re not son.

You can'’t do that.

I came from the ghetto, the projects.

My son never lived in the projects.

We thought because we made

a certain amount of money

that we could protect our children.

And yet and still,

society in its ugliness

still attacked our door.

Amatullah-Matin: What I'’m telling you--

wake up.

This affects us all.

We all lose.

Children, they are murdered

for no other reason than they was too tall,

he was too big.

I mean, the list goes on and on.

A white boy can run in a movie theater,

open fire, kill 14 people,

and stand trial.

Our kids can walk down the street

and get gunned down,

and the people who kill them,

nothing happens.

Absolutely nothing.

We just found out that one of the officers

that killed Abdul got promoted.

[Scoffs] How does that happen?

It is not a day that goes by

that we don'’t think about Abdul

and then what can we do

to save another parent,

another family from this loss?

So if you think about nothing more

when you leave here this evening,

think about what you'’re gonna do

to take on this struggle with us

because you are all needed in it,

and that'’s what I would task you with,

not so much my tears.

I'’m trying not to cry,

but what are you gonna do to get involved?

Thank you.

[Applause]

Woman: One of the-- the early things

right after Michael Brown was killed was

there was a church service-- many church services--

that I went to, and I was one

of the only white folks in the crowd,

and this place was packed,

and there were two, um, black boys

sitting next to me.

They weren'’t over the age of 10,

and all of a sudden, they were afraid,

and their mom, she'’s going, "It'’s OK.

"It'’s OK. They'’re not here for you.

"It'’s OK. They'’re just here to make sure

everything'’s safe,"

and it was then that I realized

that police had filed in the front,

and the terror that was coming

from these two children next to me let me knew--

know that we were living

in a completely different world,

and were sitting right next to each other.

Man: Mm-hmm.

And it let me know that there were things

that I needed to learn about as a white person.

I wasn'’t OK with kids, no matter what they looked like,

sitting in a church, being afraid.

Your kids, which you will have

if--if--if you want,

deserve every bit of fullness of life

that my niece and my nephew have,

and so we'’ll--we'’ll be there for yours, too,

because they'’re all our children, right?

Man: That'’s right.

Griffin, voice-over: The responses have been

very impassioned and very strong.

People want this,

and it'’s my hope to help them

to understand the realities of what is going on

and what we'’re facing as a nation

and begin to use their own ideas

to begin to carry that mantle.

I'’m in my mid-twenties, maybe 27 years old,

my son is 3.

We'’re at the California African American Museum,

or the Exposition, right,

and he'’s not growing up in, you know,

the environment that I'’m from.

A police car rolls by.

He'’s 3 years old.

He starts picking up rocks and throwing them

at the police car,

and I said, "Why--stop, stop.

What are you doing that for," right?

And I said--he said, "If they take you to jail,

I'’ma kill them."

So obviously, somewhere--somewhere

in his 3-year-old mind from the moment

of being toddlerhood to 3 years old

he felt some type of trepidation for police,

you know what I mean, you know, law, authority

that was a threat to him as a young black male,

and I was like, "What is that about?

How and why do we feel this way?"

I said--I told him, "Don'’t do that, don'’t do that,

don'’t do it," and I said--I picked him up,

and I said, you know, "But--but I love you,

"I love you, I love you.

You'’re looking out for me."

Ha ha ha!

[Man chanting in foreign language]

Ready? Ready to set up your prayer rug?

[Woman praying in foreign language]

[Praying in foreign language]

Ready?

Amir, voice-over: I always knew at some point

I would be Muslim.

I just felt the need to serve God,

and I didn'’t want to go through the pastor

to get to God.

I wanted to go to God directly.

[chanting in foreign language]

My ancestry is my mother is

Salvadorian, and my father

is Mexican, and I was raised

in Mexico.

I speak fluent Spanish.

I'’m a Latina Americana, but I also decided

to change my religion, which is a huge no-no

in the Latino community,

but I had a lot of turmoil in my home.

In that midst of being lost,

I started reading more

and wanting to learn more.

I wanted to find peace.

The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him,

was very interesting and intriguing to me,

that one man who was illiterate

just could change so much,

I mean, literally the world.

[Praying in foreign language]

Nancy: I decided to become Muslim,

and then I married an African American man,

and now I have a blended child that--

all of that is gonna be a part of Zaire.

Allah forever.

Amir, voice-over: You know, this is us.

We are American.

We have a really beautiful opportunity

of bringing up a child

that represents all of that.

Get you ready for school now.

Gonna get up? Ready?

Ready to get up?

No? Yes. No?

Ha ha ha!

As people of color, we prepare our kids

for--for the world as much as possible.

As much as I would love it for him to be carefree,

I know in my parenting that I do things

intentionally to prepare him

as a protective mechanism.

Ha ha ha! What?

I have to have conversations

that a child at his age shouldn'’t have to have.

Nancy: No.

I dread getting that call

that some parents have gotten

that their child is dead or--

or has been a victim of violence.

Amir: You got to have a job to make money,

so what job will you have?

Nancy: What kind of job, Zaire?

Zaire: Uh...

uh...police officer.

Amir: That'’s what you want to do?

You want to help people?

Amir, voice-over: So I got to prepare my son

for the world at 5.

I have to talk to him about police brutality at 5.

Nancy, voice-over: And so for us,

we don'’t want to hide certain things.

Of course, we use different language,

but, um, we'’ve talked to him about racism

and what does that mean.

Amir, voice-over: And that'’s the reality of being black,

and that'’s the reality of being, uh,

a person of color in this country.

Zaire: I am a police officer.

Amir: You are a police officer?

I'’m a little kid police officer.

Oh! Oh.

You sure you'’re a little kid police officer?

Yeah.

Nancy, voice-over: My concern is always,

What could I do more of to help him

be as successful as he could be?

Morning. Say good morning.

Morning. Man: How you doing?

Amir, voice-over: Still try to put those seeds in,

you know, so when Daddy buys a Harvard sweater,

even though I'’ve never been to Harvard,

it'’s a protective mechanism to say

that he can reach for something greater.

That'’s why the whole selection of school

was so important

because we wanted him to have the best footing.

[Buzzer]

Between K-3 if you don'’t have those building blocks,

your whole life path can change,

um, so we'’re very cognizant of those--

of those realities.

Our legacy--we want to set a legacy of service,

a legacy of, um, being active

and getting involved.

Amir, voice-over: My job, Playworks, is--is important

because, you know, we get to change the lives

of young people every day.

We use healthy play as--as a vehicle

to create social-emotional change.

Try to change that energy

from, like, something that is, you know,

not con--not constructive

to something that'’s more positive...

Amir, voice-over: At a lot of schools,

I'’m either the only African American male,

or I'’m the only male in general.

It'’s something I don'’t-- I don'’t take lightly.

I am currently the program manager

for a youth employment program at Horizons,

working with youth on probation,

um, or youth who have been on probation.

And even our youth, right, teaching them to think

for themselves, thinking-- them to be more proactive

as opposed to reactive,

that that by--by itself is hella revolutionary,

and we don'’t talk about that...

Nancy, voice-over: We'’re very aware of how important it is

to have a community

that helps you raise your child.

[Whistle blows]

I fully believe in that. I really do,

and I feel like we'’re practicing.

We'’re embodying that with Zaire.

Amir: My favorite picture of Zaire,

if I can find it--

I got it. I got it now.

That'’s--that'’s-- that'’s a cute one.

That'’s a cute one!

All of our baby'’s pictures are cute.

We want to the football--

Super Bowl, 50th, San Francisco.

Oh, yeah-- That'’s his favorite.

Yeah. Zaire asked for it.

And he said, "The police officers are there!

Look at all the police officers!"

So, um, we asked him if he wanted to take a picture?

He said, "Yeah!" And he, like, ran over there

and asked them for a photo.

I won'’t push that ideology on my son,

the ideology that law enforcement is

somehow inherently evil or bad

or--or anything like that,

but while I say that, there--there is

a--a real and present threat

that once he gets older that he could become

a victim of violence,

and that'’s just a reality.

So it doesn'’t matter how conscious I--I am,

doesn'’t matter how woke I am,

the fact of the matter is

that officer may not be woke.

Mmm. Mm-hmm.

You know, I don'’t want my son to be

that--that next hashtag.

♪ No justice ♪ ♪ No peace ♪

♪ No racist ♪ ♪ Police ♪

Stop killing us!

Reporter: Protesters around the Bay Area gathered

to demonstrate about the police killings

of two African American men--

Alton Sterling in Louisiana

and Philando Castile in Minnesota.

It'’s not about what you do for these 3 hours of your life.

What are you doing when you go home...

Amir: I wanted my son to see what a protest looks like,

why are people upset.

I do not want to shield my son

from what'’s going on in the world,

but as a parent, you have to be cautious

because when you have people that are upset

and you have law enforcement, things can happen.

♪ No justice ♪ ♪ No peace ♪

♪ No racist ♪ ♪ Police ♪

So there'’s the line of police officers

that are lined up in--in riot gear,

and then there'’s in front of them--

directly in front of them, there'’s

a bunch of, you know, protesters,

angry, crying, all kinds of, uh, emotions

flying all over the place,

and Amir'’s standing there with Zaire in front of him,

and I'’m right behind him.

And at some point, Amir decides,

"I'’m going to walk up to the police officer,"

who'’s, like, in full riot gear,

and I saw him, and I immediately panicked.

And I'’m just like, "What am I supposed to tell my son?

"You know, my son wants to be like you.

"My son wants to be a officer.

What do I tell him about these ongoing things?"

This is not once in a blue moon.

This is, like, once-- once or twice a month.

But it was just a natural instinct for me to panic

that he was moving away from me,

and as he picked Zaire up,

I saw the police officer immediately tighten up,

tense up, and unclipped his holster.

Protesters: ♪ Black lives matter ♪

♪ Stop police brutality ♪

Nancy: There'’s clear fear on the side

of the police officer.

And for him to immediately leap to fear

and to unclip his holster,

even though this man has a child in his arms,

so I, like, freaked.

♪ Hands up ♪ ♪ Don'’t shoot ♪

♪ Hands up ♪ ♪ Don'’t shoot ♪

♪ Hands up ♪ ♪ Don'’t shoot ♪

Nancy: It was a good, like, 5 seconds

of the police officer really,

like tense before he relaxed.

And you can see, like, he--I feel like he even,

like, smiled a little bit at Zaire,

but for me to be in that space,

to see my son looking at this police officer

in full riot gear,

I can'’t take-- I could never take--

erase that image from my head.

Nancy, voice-over: And so for us, we had

several conversations about parenting

and the things that didn'’t work for us

in our families, and that definitely

defines how we parent Zaire now.

This is...

a pivotal time for him,

like, you know, building all these memories

at 5 and 6 and 7, 8,

and then eventually,

they become part of who he is.

Amir: So we just go right here, front entrance?

Man: Yeah. Front door. Yeah.

Uh, OK. For the meeting, for the forum?

Oh, yeah. OK. Thank you.

Nancy: Hi. Hi. How are you guys?

Good. How are you? All right.

Amir, voice-over: Yeah. I always want to let him know,

like, he'’s loved,

and we do our affirmations every morning.

I got to tell

my son every day,

"You'’re smart, you'’re intelligent."

[Sighs]

Yeah.

Nancy: Because if he doesn'’t

believe in himself,

that world will swallow him,

and that'’s the reality that not just our son

but all children of color

have to live with,

and they need their parents,

the love of a parent, family,

to remind them

of the goodness that-- that they are,

and we do that with Zaire because

it'’s important for him to know that he'’s great

and he'’s destined for greatness,

and it'’s got to come from him.

Woman: What are--what are some other kinds

of people power we could use? Brett?

We could write letters.

We could write letters.

We could have signs.

Woman: What would we do with our signs? Yeah?

Zaire: We can--we can write "Black lives matter."

Woman: We could write "Black lives matter" signs.

Child: What is that?

We ask him to say, "I am smart,

I am kind."

"I'’m a good friend."

"I," um, "I am strong, I'’m intelligent."

"I'’m black."

Ha ha ha! Yeah. He says, "I'’m black."

Zaire: Black lives matter! Black lives!

I want that one. I want that one.

Nancy: "I'’m Latino."

Amir: "I'’m Muslim."

Woman: We demand...

Kids: We demand...

no police... no police...

or guns... or guns...

in schools! in schools!

Nancy: "I love my friends, I love my family."

Um, "I love peace.

I'’m good to my friends."

And he'’ll say, "I love school."

He says, "I love school."

Woman: Is this all of our friends? Yes?

Nancy: You know, so the things

we want him to be--

to feel good about himself.

We pray that it reciprocates

later in life

when he'’s an adult

and he has to navigate this crazy world

that we have no control of at this point,

you know,

and--and we are leaving it in God'’s hands,

but we know that us doing that is

just a way to help him to navigate this world.

[Indistinct chatter]

Girl: Ha ha ha!

We demand... Kids: We demand...

no police... no police...

or guns... or guns...

in schools! in schools!

We demand... We demand...

no police... no police...

in schools! in schools!

Our sons are framed as the problem.

"What are we gonna do to save our sons?"

"What are we gonna do with young black men?,"

as if they are the problem

as opposed to being born into a world

that is creating problems for them.

The reality is that, um, many people who live safe,

um, really don'’t want to know what is taking place

on the street because many people

who are policy makers, uh, their position is

that "It is not my child, it'’s not my son.

I don'’t want to know what happened."

If you know going into every encounter with the police

they have all the power and "I won'’t be believed,"

that takes a toll.

I'’ve never had an encounter with a police officer

that, um, I was mistreated, felt up,

or, you know, dehumanized,

but for every woman or any person of color

that it has happened to, I feel it.

I just think we got to stick together

and unify, um-- and be unified

and be together because they-- we'’re very powerful

when we do that,

and it makes people uncomfortable,

and that'’s what they need.

They need to get uncomfortable.

A kid shouldn'’t see a cop as a threat.

He really shouldn'’t.

You know, he ought to see that individual

in that uniform as somebody that can help him,

that'’s willing to help him.

I don'’t see the talk ending anytime soon.

I think that there is and there will be

for generations to come the need to have "the talk"

as it relates to law enforcement and policing.

I look at it as being something that--that--that really is

a readiness--heh heh-- uh, conversation.

It is a preparatory conversation.

It is a survival conversation.

I actually believe that the pain that people experience

in these moments is actually therapeutic for society

Do we want to continue to create wave after wave,

generation after generation of black boys

and black men who look at police officers

and don'’t see a friend but see a foe,

who don'’t cooperate because they think that

you'’ve never been on their side,

who don'’t call 911 when there'’s an emergency

because they are afraid of what might happen to them,

who don'’t ask you to intervene and therefore go out

and seek vengeance on their own

because you have never been on their side?

Is that what we want?

How much damage does that do?

What kind of society does--does that create?

[Batista'’s "Rise Up" playing]

Man: What?!

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Man: Rise up.

Rise up.

Rise up.

[Echoing] What?!