GENEVA: A UN watchdog yesterday slammed police shootings of blacks in the United States, days after a decision not to prosecute a white officer who shot and killed an unarmed black teen sparked nationwide protests.
With tensions still running high after Monday’s decision by a Missouri grand jury not to charge a white policeman who shot dead 18-year-old Michael Brown on August 9, the UN Committee Against Torture published conclusions from its review earlier this month of the US record.
Brown’s parents had been present at the hearing on November 12 and 13 in Geneva to discuss their son’s case with the committee members.
“The committee is concerned about numerous reports of police brutality and excessive use of force by law enforcement officials, in particular against persons belonging to certain racial and ethnic groups,” the 10-member committee said in its report.
It also lamented “racial profiling by police and immigration offices and growing militarisation of policing activities.”
Alessio Bruni, one of the top investigators on the committee, told reporters in Geneva the members had voiced “deep concern at the frequent and recurring police shootings in fatal pursuit of unarmed black individuals.”
The committee, which periodically reviews the records of the 156 countries that have ratified the Convention Against Torture, lamented that the large delegation of high-level US officials who came to Geneva to defend the US record had provided little data on police brutality and investigations into such abuses.
It urged Washington to ensure that all cases of police brutality and excessive use of force are “investigated promptly, effectively and impartially”, that perpetrators be brought to justice and that victims receive effective remedies.
“We have certain concerns about whether investigations are ... thoroughly completed and whether punishment of law-enforcement when they have crossed the line are effectively put in place,” said another of the panel’s top investigators, Jens Modvig.
The committee also highlighted excessive use of taser guns by police, an issue that had prompted protests at the hearing earlier this month.
It said it was “concerned about numerous, consistent reports that police have used electrical discharge weapons against unarmed individuals who resist arrest or fail to comply immediately with commands, suspects fleeing minor crime scenes or even minors.”
AFP
