No Justice, No Problem

see this is the problem with america unless it happens to someone that is not of color( which most likely wont happen lets just b real about it) whites dont think its a problem (cause deep down inside they think he deserved it) we need to stop lookin at the color of the man that was gunned down but instead we all need to start thinkin what if this was my son or someone u knew you would want justice for their family cause who is going to have to tell his child the truth about what happen to their father? and what will they say when they child ask's what happened to the men that killed him? "Oh the judge said your father deserved to die" when is a change going to come!

Being shot at over 50 times is absolutely, ridiculously, insane! And is in NO way justifiable! The NYPD, under no circumstance is above the law. Murder is murder! No matter who commits the crime.

I was in NY this weekend filming another protest for Sean Bell and the NYPD were arresting men and women of all ages, classes and races. Protesters kneeled on bridges and in tunnels and prayed together at locations all over the city.

NYPD, LAPD, Philli PD this is happening all over the country and world.

Regardless if it's a march, chant voting or other political action we all have to do our part to stop the ongoing dismissiveness of injustice in this country and around the world!!

My prayers go to the Bell family!

Look out for my Sean Bell pod coming soon!!!!!

No Justice, No Peace!! No Racist Police!!

50 SHOTS!!! 50 SHOTS!! 50 SHOTS!! 50 SHOTS!! 50 SHOTS!!! 50 SHOTS!! 50 SHOTS!! 50 SHOTS!!

I like this production but wtf are we going to do about it? Like Puffy said "Don't Talk about it, Be About it!" The time has come...Black people, we know what we have to do...no more being scared to sacrifice our own lives for the benefit of other Black people. It is the only way to continue MLK's sacrificial fight against INJUSTICE....some of us must perish in the battle...let's get it poppin and I do mean poppin!

The first time I saw this on TV it brought tears to my eyes. It's appalling and disgusting that this type of behavior is still deemed “acceptable” in the year 2008. Although progress has been made, this is certainly a clear indication that we’ve got a long ways to go before “justice for all” is truly achieved.

what it is is that you need to start taking responsiblity for how blacks contribute to this, stop supporting the artists out there who portray you just like the white media except they glamorize it and provide fuel for it to be what it the truth. if black men and black women as theyre mothers and sisters change what they do how they portray themselves the white media will hav no choice but to cooperate

YES! ajwashington's comment hit it right on the nose!

That lady said "they're not saying anything new, and they're certainly not energizing the thought process for the next step..." I agree with her completely. The problem also lies within the black community itself. Saying things like "No justice, no peace" "Angry black man" A black man living in America" " By any means necessary" are all redundant catch phrases and no longer have any effect in these matters.

Things could change if parents would stop telling their children to not trust the police because of THEIR experiences (This already sets them up for a negative outlook on the police, therefore the cycle continues and nothing changes).
The media never had and no longer has any responsibility over their portrayal of black men because it's "black men" who are posting up their OWN negative portrayal on websites like YouTube, and MySpace. They fall into these stereotypes on their OWN.
Even Acshunn's very video begins with him saying "Unarmed black man gets shot down by police" yet he failed to mention that two of the police officers themselves are black. His comment already sets a racial tone. Would you think differently if he said "Unarmed black man gets shot down by police, two of which are also black"
I don't believe this is an issue of race but an issue of power welded in the hands of the WRONG people, corrupt people.

*Here's a suggestion, instead of mounting cameras on the dashboard of police cars, WHY don't they mount cameras on the police officers themselves? The police are there to protect and serve the public right? Well this could also another way for them to serve US (the public) so we can see exactly what they have to go through on a daily basis and we can stop (or curtail) any type of corruption that may go on in the department of police.*

Lets arm ourselves with books and knowledge instead of guns and liquor.

This is chilling.

I've been living in Bed Stuy for the past year. The worst interaction I ever had there was with a white cop basically telling me I didn't belong in the neighborhood (because I too am white).

I just don't see how race relations can change when these ass hole cops are acting as ambassadors.

At the same time, there are plenty of good honest cops. The worst thing anyone can do is generalize. There are bad cops just like there are bad people.

This case is so sad. I remember the first time I heard about it. I just felt complete anger. The justice system did these police officers wrong-- meaning they should be in prison! Attention police: not all black men want to kill you.

Events like this make me like law enforcement less and less. I was brought up to not completely trust them...and I still don't.

why do the police still relying on guns as their main source of defense. shouldn't our officers be able to use some form of a calming temporary tranquilizer? when an animal gets out of control we normally don't shoot it, we sedate it and put it in a less chaotic environment. tasers are less life threatening than guns, but they still create a violent reaction. when a social outbreak occurs peoples "fight or flight" go off naturally and they behave irrationally. isn't it better to provide the space for their adrenaline levels to balance back??

A nicely done pod, indeed. And I, like most of the other posters, agree with the woman's cry of "No more chanting!" Chants and marches do nothing these days; people expect to see marches and hear chants after verdicts like the Sean Bell case, so they no longer have the same impact. What is not expected is for people who are angered and fed up with such outcomes to get involved in public policy to change the system that allows these tragic results to happen. The real power today is getting off the streets and into the rooms where ridiculous policies are made.

One of the best pods I've seen on Current. It's the whole package: great story with conflict and tension throughout; great B-roll from the protests and stills, drawings, and B-roll from court case; concise, memorable, and powerful sound bites from protesters; and good use of text. I especially liked the text at the end. It's one thing to hear someone say, "a lot of unarmed black people have been shot by cops," and another thing to see those people's names, ages, and how many times they were shot. Really, really, nice pod.

Every time I see or hear anything relating to the death of Sean Bell, I get very pissed! It angered me when I heard the speeches of the murderers, thanking the judge for a "fair and accurate" ruling... an innocent, unarmed young man was shot at fifty times and killed on the day of his wedding, and the perpetrators are not even charged with wreckless endangerment. They got away with MURDER. A young man is dead and some ignorant fool has the right to spell out his relief as "n-o-t-g-u-i-l-t-y."
The elderly lady was right no more chanting because it seems the police only understand brute force. A black man is killed and his family gets no justice. America wants to know why we have men like Rev. Wright saying the things he says, here is one crystal clear example for you. The minority community do not feel like equals in this country.

What a cop out that a cop can say "I feared for my life" when they have all the power and so many of them with lethal weapons.

In our town, Mayor Jim Torrey back in the 90's was responsible for unnecessary violence against the community here in Eugene, Oregon. He is a fat cat republican who is trying to steal slogans from the OBAMA campaign and his posters are green. He is trying to make people believe he is a green candidate by switching to being an independent.

His posters say "yes Eugen we can!"

Our police have been out of control for a long time. And our city voted to have an independent community police auditor to watch out for the interests of the community when officers conduct is being evaluated.

It seems to me that is ok for police to break the law in order to enforce the law.
Yet as soon as you question one as to why that is, you are treated like a criminal.
For being "civil servants" they aren't too civil and i don't know who they're serving.

And unfortunately for all of us, it's not just the cops in NYC we need to be worried about. I wonder what percentage of Americans HAVEN'T been harassed by a cop at least once in their lives.

Really well done piece. To hear the outcome of the trial was unbelievable.

How does one protect themselves from those who are suppose to protect us? I've had this conversation before and have noted that if you kill them, you're a no good cop killer. However, if they kill you, it's because they were scared for their lives; they needed to protect themselves. It's come to my understanding that police officers can be just as scary as the guy robbing the convenience store and that's truly unfortunate.

However, it's like Neghie said. Too many bad cops, not enough good ones. I usually disliked when my friends said they hated cops because in your heart you feel that idiots like these men do not represent the entire force. But as the bodies continue to pile up and injustice continues to grow, it really makes you wonder if these police officers are here to really protect and serve.

exactly stephen..they're the gang and terrorists to fear

I was in NYC in '04 to protest the RNC.
I heard conversations between the officers.

They're complete thugs.

"THERE IS NO JUSTICE, JUST US"
-Richard Pryor

I feel sorry for those guys that were shot, they did not deserve the abuse/death. I too have been a victim of street violence. Jumped/robbed by three guys and put into the hospital.

There is only one thing that will change any of this, it’s the same thing I ask my Republican friends who say we have to stay in Iraq.

Have you enlisted for service yet?

Anyone out there want to be a cop in NY? Put your application in today, they obviously need you.

People can criticize all they want, action speaks much louder than words.

I am in no way condoning any of the actions by the police, I think they went WAY too far. But it seems that the system can only changed from within.

I agree no more chanting! Has anyone seen the episode of boondocks when Martin Luther King returns? This is a gross display of country!

Powerful piece. "No more chanting!" I can feel that woman's frustration. I don't know the complete true facts about this story, but it seems that justice had not been served. I think it's terrible on both fronts. We keep hearing about these officers who keep taking lives, and not enough about those who save.

This is amazing amazing amazing. I went to the march last Friday and was furious that NYPD were LAUGHING...LAUGHING...

We need to do more. That woman was right, no more chanting. We need action. Enough is enough. You and i will be the 60 shots, then what?

This blows me away!!! how do you end up with a trieal by judge and not by jury of your peers. if the jury was composed of everyday people the outcome would have deffinitly been different. It is an absolute outrage, and slap in the face to the families that were directly effected. Protect and serve my ass, they have always and will allways continue to be able to do anything they want as long as they say i was afraid for my life, or i thought that was a gun. ludachris!!! the one cop emptied a clip and had time to reload and empty that clip. how does that happen when there is no return fire and the people are just tring to run away? words cannot describe my anger and dibeleif surrounding this case and i use the term case lightly.

thoes cops knew before going into the court room that they were walking out free, and not even a slap on the wrist.

On the other hand i see this evolving into a race war with the new chant "by any means neccicary". this sais to other people especualy black people that they need to take action because no one will protect them. But this is just going to cause more incedents against cops and blacks. which is the opposite of what needs to happen.

instead of distancing ourselvs even further we should make sure that we gain positions in the ranks of those we fear. thus start helping from the inside.

W also need to organize larger multi state protests, so that more and more attention is brought to the subject. the city of ny has to be sued, the police department and cival protection agencies need to take action. and if nothing is done and done fast we will be facing more and more problems like riots, gang increase to protect lower income citezens, and alot more violence will be seen towards cops that had nothing to do with this.

well i will stop rambling, i could sit here and write a book about this atrocity

I amin the upstate area of NY and would like to get together with other orginizers to get the ball rooling on a day of deminstration across the state if not the nation. please contact me at sha_parks@yahoo.com to help me set up a date and areas to gather in for peacefull but loud protest. and with enough help and numbers we can make the NYPD take a step back and see this from a national veiwpoint. and the more people in more cities that we get to act on this the more local governments will lean on NYC and the entire system as well.

Dont be an idle voice, the power is in the people.
thankyou
Shamus

I support ending police corruption 100%. I do, however, think it is an unfair stereotype of police officers. This pod obviously shows how police authority, when put into the wrong hands, can easily be abused. There is a dark to every light. There are many officers who truly acknowledge their responsibility to be fair and just. Keep up the protests, but please keep in mind that it's the corruption you're fighting.

I think this is getting too out of control... My honest opinion is the African American Community in the US needs to REVOLT against the US Government and, once and for all, take back the freedom they deserve!

I don't think that will happen, though.