Police to be Held Accountable? Perhaps!

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The debate over police tactics continues to rage across the country in the wake of shootings, demonstrations, grand jury deliberations and mounting outrage from protesters and police alike. It is also being played out in Albuquerque, New Mexico--not a place often found in the same sentence as Ferguson.

In this unlikely town, the district attorney has filed murder charges against two officers involved in the shooting death of a homeless man last year. The Albuquerque Police Department has been the focus of repeated protests over police-involved shootings. Albuquerque police shot and killed 27 people between 2010 and 2014, according to records kept by the Albuquerque Journal.

Charges follow the shooting death of James Boyd last March. According to police, Boyd was shot holding two knives. However, film footage from one of the officer's mandated body cameras appears to show Boyd turning away from officers just before the officers opened fire.

Unlike the typical grand jury proceedings which are veiled in secrecy and filled with questions, these criminal charges were filed and subject to a preliminary hearing, which is part of the public record.

While there is debate on both sides of the issue regarding the use of force and what is necessary and appropriate, the public at large is calling for answers. This case is to follow. It may signal a change in the handling of police shooting across the country.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/01/14/in-albuquerque-protests-against-police-shootings-and-charges-against-officers/

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