JAMACIA (28 APRIL 2021) Read the full article America gets black eye for police violence
The International Commission of Inquiry on Systemic Racist Police Violence Against People of African Descent has called for the defunding and demilitarisation of law enforcement in the United States (US). The families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, along with more than 600 human-rights groups, in June of last year, petitioned the United Nations Human Rights Council to appoint a commission of inquiry to investigate escalating police violence and systemic racism against people of African descent in the US.
The 188-page report is the culmination of months of review of relevant documents and weeks of live hearings of 44 of the most egregious cases of people killed by police, spanning 20 years.
The petition was opposed by the US and the United Nations declined to establish a commission of inquiry. It was eventually established by the International Association of Democratic Lawyers.
MALICIOUS KILLINGS
Hinds said the investigations found that all the killings were malicious and intentional and that the victims in all cases were unarmed.
The commissioners reported that pretextual traffic stops are a common precursor to police killings and the use of excessive force against people of African descent.
Further use of force against unarmed people of African descent during traffic and investigatory stops is driven by racial stereotypes and racial biases.
Additionally, in hearing after hearing, the commissioners observed a pattern of police violations of the Fourth Amendment rights of black people to be secure in their persons, houses and effects from unreasonable searches and seizures.
The commission observed an alarming pattern of manipulation of evidence, cover-ups, obstruction of justice, and collusion between various arms of law enforcement.
Jamaican attorney-at-law Bert Samuels shared that it was a painful exercise and that commissioners were often brought to tears.
