Or if there are no cameras at all . Our world tells the stories of witnesses to Police Brutality who say theyve been intimidated and even threatened with incarceration. A warning this film contains scenes which some viewers may find upsetting. George floyd is the face of thousands that have gone before him. He is the straw that broke the camels back. After the Brutal Police killing of george floyd, protests erupted across america and the world. Nojustice, no peace i cant breathe, please, your knee in my neck, i cant breathe. A video shot by a passer by has changed the way many people view officers treatment of black people in the us. George floyd say his name but when the cameras are turned off, what happens to the witnesses . Witnesses are intimidated. They are fearful that they will be targeted if they come out and testify against a Police Officer. This film tells the story of the people who have witnessed Police Brutality. Ijust seen the cops kill somebody. I didnt know what was going to happen to me next. And how the police can turn against them. One was coming at me with the gun in my face. I was scared, i was terrified. Independence day in 2016 in baton rouge, louisiana. It had been a busy day for store owner Abdullah Muflahi and his friend and colleague, alton stirling. First time i met alton was when i first came down here from detroit. He was selling cds at the store i first started working at. He is the one who actually welcomed me to baton rouge and told me if i needed help with anything, to actually ask him. This is actually where he usually set up, was right here. Now, 37 year old alton was selling cds from a table outside abdullahs shop. He loved it out here, he knew everybody and everybody knew him. But around midnight, someone had called the police on alton, for allegedly threatening a homeless man with a gun. Excuse me, man, can you put your hands on the car real quick . Stop, stop. What youre talking about . Put your hands on the car. Dont move brother, stop. What did i did, sir, what i did . Dont bleep move or ill shoot bleep your ass put your hands on the car i will shoot you too, in your bleep head, do you understand me . I ran outside, i saw the police tackling and tailoring him tackling and tasing him and fighting with him. Tase his ass. Get on the ground it didnt seem like what they were doing was right. They were escalating the problem rather than deescalating it. Just clicked in my head, hey, pull your phone out and record. You move, i bleep swear to god. Gunshots. Get on the ground gunshots. I was only, like, maybe a couple of feet away from him when all of that happened. It was very shocking, felt like it was a nightmare. Oh my god, stop, everybody stop the two Police Officers realised abdullah had been standing right next to them. Detain him. For what . You were out here, you witnessed everything, so were gonna detain you. Damn, man. Put him in the car. I was still in shock, i still didnt know what was going on. I just saw the cops kill somebody, i didnt know what was going to happen to me next. They were treating me as if i was the suspect, as the criminal. The police took away his phone and locked him in the hot car for more than four hours, even refusing him access to a bathroom. The windows were closed. I kept telling them its hot, can i stand outside, can i go back in the store . They wouldnt let me do anything. While he was locked in the car, police went into his store and took his entire surveillance system. But they didnt realise that abdullah had been recording too. I was scared to tell anybody i had any kind of footage. I was scared i would, you know, they would come after me or take it. I kept it a secret the whole time. I was scared that i even had it on my phone until i went and talked tojoel porter, my lawyer. I immediately understood the significance, the importance of this footage. I did not trust local Law Enforcement with this footage. I did not want it to be tampered with, i did not want it to be destroyed. I felt like i had an obligation to release it to the public. Footage from the night lit a fire under a community enraged about Police Killing another black man. Joel porter is acting on behalf of abdullah in a suit against the police. They illegally detained him, placed him withoutjustification in the back of a police car, they prevented him from contacting his attorney, confiscated his surveillance equipment. They would not allow him to go to the bathroom. The Police Behaviour towards mr muflahi was despicable. I think that their actions were intended to intimidate him. Two other witnesses were also detained by the police that night. They have never come forward, and despite a federal investigation into the shooting, no officers have ever been charged. Baton Rouge Police Department told the bbc that while they couldnt comment on mr muflahis case due to ongoing civil action, significant advancements have been made in training and policy. Last year, the officer who shot alton sterling agreed to leave the force. I wanted to find out how often witnesses refuse to come forward, and why. There are no official figures, but i have spoken to lawyers representing victims across the country, and they have all told me that the problem is widespread. Lee merritt is a lawyer acting on some of the most prominent civil rights cases in america, including that of george floyd. We live in the Deadliest Police culture in the modern world. There is no nation that kills and incarcerates so many of its citizens, and we see violence and incarceration as a response to holding Police Officers accountable. So you yourself as a civil rights lawyer, you and your team finds it difficult to get witnesses to come out and speak . It is extremely difficult to get the community to participate in Holding Officers Accountable when they know there are very few protections to keep them from receiving repercussions. Although it is rare to find people willing to speak out, one man in baton rouge has made it his mission to protect the community by keeping an eye on the police. Radio chatter ijust listen to itjust in case i pick something up, you know. Arthur reed, better known as silky slim, is a community activist. He listens on Police Scanners for incidents which might turn deadly. I listen to it all day, as much as i can. I think, late at night, um, 1 00 or 2 00 in the morning, i listen for that, that one call. Sirens blare lets see what we can get. He and a small team go out each night to film responses to 911 calls in the area. In the last five years, they have caught two Police Killings on camera, and the aftermath of a third. But it can be risky. I get out of my car, i take my camera and i hold it up and i started filming. And the police draws his gun and says what is that you got pointed at me . I said, this is my camera and it is not pointed at you. I cant tell from here, put your hands up so i could have lost my life then and there. And he knew that it was a phone, but he also knew that he could have shot and said that he thought it was a gun and ijust would have been dead. Move back. Its a threat that silky is uniquely placed to handle. Bleep before he turned his life around, silky was involved in gangs, drugs and serious crime. But since he started filming, silky says he now gets more attention from police, regularly facing traffic stops, searches and fines. I get stopped more, i get harassed more now than when i was a gang leader. Right now, anywhere they see me, they figure, oh, we gonna stop him. They make their threats, we just want you to know, we can catch you at any time. Baton Rouge Police Department told the bbc that they are committed to Building Trust and legitimacy in the community, and they are actively listening to residents. Police radio chatter reporter the seventh consecutive day of protests against Police Brutality in new york city. Witnessing the killing of any human being is harrowing. It is even worse when it is a loved one. But when the killers are Law Enforcement officers, seeking accountability can have serious consequences. More common than people understand is the threat of incarceration. That if you speak out on this case, it is going to cause us to look at your taxes, or look at, you know, your last dui warrant or any number of things where we allow the state to. Criminalise witnesses. And theres no protection. Criminalisation is just whatjessica clouatre says is happening to her, since she witnessed the killing of her boyfriend, josef richardson. In july last year, they were living in a motel in port allen, next door to baton rouge. It was just a small room, we were actually waiting on our apartment so we were just staying there until the 1st. Unknown to them, josef was being watched by the Sheriffs Office. I was laying in the bed watching a video, and josef had just got out of the shower, standing by the bathroom mirror, and all of a sudden i heard West Baton Rouge Sheriffs Office, put your hands up, so i immediately turned up and sat up in bed and put my hands up, and made eye contact with the officer, and joe turned around and he walked up a little bit, hejust walked up like an inch and put his hands up, and one of the officers immediately grabbed josef. The officer grabbed joes hand and he bent it really, really hard when he was taking him down, and i seejoe go to the ground. I see them standing over joe, and the gun go off at that time, and. Hold on. And then, um, soon as the gun goes off onjoe. One was coming at me with the gun in my face, and he immediately grabbed me, and he took me out of the room. I didnt know what to feel. I was scared, i was terrified, and what did ijust see . You know, what did i witness . Ijust thought it was going to be my last day too as well, you know . Josef had been shot in the back of the neck. Three internal investigations following his killing ruled that the officer had acted lawfully. They said there was resistance after a struggle, as well as a suspected gun. Butjosefs family are taking civil action against the Sheriffs Office for wrongful death. So we have an unarmed black man, half naked, killed in a motel room. Jessica said he was in the process of complying, the process of getting on his knees and putting his hands up behind the head. If you were to do that, if i were to get out this chair, get on my knees, and begin to comply like that, which part of my body is exposed . It would be this point right here. Which shows that they are lying about the events. The Sheriffs Department of West Baton Rouge say that they conducted the raid because josef was dealing drugs from the room. The report says they found marijuana, methamphetamines, cocaine and two digital scales. No gun was ever found. Jessica, after being a witness to this, she was arrested. She was charged with the drugs that were found in the room, even though based on their own investigation intojosef, that he was the alleged target of this investigation, but they threw everything that was in there on her. Jessica spent four days in custody and was charged with possession with intent to supply the drugs found. You know, ijust witnessed my boyfriends death and murder, and i was like. Like, what am i here for . You know, like, what did i do . You are the criminal. Jessica is campaigning to get justice forjosef. But the charges have left her in limbo. What kind of life can i have with these kind of charges on me . I cant go to get a good job, i cant go to work, it is not good for those kind of charges to be on you. Jessica also feels she is being targeted on the streets. Just weeks after the killing, Police Stopped her while she was being driven home. She is covering herface because she is worried the police will recognise her. We were actually right here. Where the black car is. The driver immediately pulled over and a Police Officer rushed to the side of the car that i was on, and opened up the door, and he said that he was pulling us over because of the tail light, but it didnt make sense that he ran on my side of the door instead of the driver side. Things then became more serious. I went to go get my cigarettes out of the car and then the officer holded up a white bag with a white substance in it, a small white bag, and he asked me, was that for me . And i said no. If it aint yours. Its hers. Inaudible. Jessica says she doesnt know who the drugs belonged to, but the driver eventually took responsibility. She was let go. As i was walking away, the officer looked at me and he said jessica, he said, the only reason why youre not going to jail with me today is because he took full responsibility for the drugs that were found in the car. Why would he tell me Something Like that . I think they were trying to take me down because of the crime they committed. Since being arrested, jessica says she sees the police everywhere. Every time i go in port allen, you would see the police. Sometimes theyll end up popping up to, like, three different locations where i was at. And so that is what really made me say that, you know, i have to really be careful. You know, ijust dont feel safe any more. Jessica will plead not guilty to the drugs charges next month. She is suing the police for false arrest and intimidation. Josefs family are also suing for wrongful death. West baton rouge Sheriffs Office says they could not comment because of the ongoing litigation. Oh, man. Even children can be treated as criminals rather than witnesses of Police Brutality. Just outside new orleans, in march this year, 14 year old tremall, on the right, and 16 year old nijel, had grabbed a lift to a family party, unaware that car had been stolen. Two cop cars up behind us they turned on the sirens, they turned around, and started going down the street. Deputies from the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office gave chase before the car suddenly stopped. Next thing you know, the tyres are flat. The driver got out and everyone else got out and the driver was like, just run. The driver disappeared into the night, while nijel hid under a shed. But tremall was too slow, and was caught. I see tremall on the ground, and the police told him to get on the ground, he got on the ground. One had his knee on my back, and on my arms, and they were like, where your friend at, where your friend at, where he at, where he at . Im like, i dont know, i dont know and thats when, after that, everything kinda went black. Next thing you know i heard a gunshot, boom, and i heard tremall scream, scream for his life. Nijel was the only witness to the shooting. Scared for his life, the 16 year old called out to surrender. He says the police beat him up. And theyjust dragged me from under there, and the next thing you knew ijust pick my head up and i see a big old boot, a big old boot just came into my eye. Tremall survived, but the boys were arrested. It was left to the hospital to tell tremalls mum about the shooting. When she arrived, officers prevented herfrom seeing her son. There was a deputy and there was a detective there. Not once did either the detective or the deputy open their mouth and say well, ms mcgee, this is what happened. They allowed me to leave the hospital assuming my child just got shot on the streets by anybody. It took three months for the sheriff to even confirm one of his deputies had indeed shot her son. Six months on, she is still waiting for answers. But despite the risks, tiffany is determined to speak out. They dont want me to keep talking. They didnt expect me to talk in the first place, they didnt expect me to ask no questions. Theyjust expected for me to sit back and say, oh, well, another black kid get shot. No, this ends today. And its going to end with me. Jefferson parish Sheriffs Office did not respond to our requests for comment. Public opinion about policing in america does seem to be shifting in the wake of George Floyds death. I put it to lee merritt that in the context of people being killed, witness tampering might seem less pressing. I think it is a huge deal, because its how they get away with the murder. Right . We put Law Enforcement officers on a pedestal, these righteous warriors that somehow have to kill people sometimes to protect us all. That narrative is simply not true, it has been exposed now since the murder of george floyd and the uprising you have seen come out of it. Whatever the impact of those protests, until more witnesses feel confident speaking out against police, many more deaths are likely to go unchallenged. Hello there, it has been a cold weekend for many, record low temperatures for september in Northern Ireland, but as we head into the early part of the week ahead we are going to find some higher temperatures across the whole of the uk, but it will be turning more unsettled as well. We will get Atlantic Winds heading our way, hence the rise in temperature, but there are some weather fronts already on the scene, but at least we will lose that cold northerly wind, so a much better day on monday for eastern england. There is some cloud though to clear away. Instead, we see cloud and rain moving away from Northern Ireland into scotland and western parts of england and wales, some rain coming light and patchy ahead of it and behind it some sunshine. Patchy and ahead of it some sunshine. It will be warmer everywhere, 15 or 16 degrees in scotland and Northern Ireland, could be 18 or 19 across eastern parts of england in the sunshine, so a big change in the weather. Not a great deal of rain left on that band of cloud as it continues to push its way into eastern parts of england overnight. Clearer skies to follow, one or two showers pecking away at the western coast, but on the whole a bit drier and a bit cooler for western scotland and Northern Ireland, but still pretty mild across east anglia and the south east with that cloud around. That cloud is on that weak weather front, it does stop really. After that moves through across the rest of the country we have got a bit of ridging in the pressure pattern, so a lot of dry weather, one or two coastal showers to the west perhaps, but across east anglia and the rest of south east england and lincolnshire more cloud for a while and perhaps light rain or drizzle. Temperatures making their way up to 18 degrees at best ontuesday. Into wednesday, another weather system coming in from the atlantic, so this is where all our weather is coming from, but this one has a bit more about it, its much more active and the rain will be heavier. It will be a wet start across the western side of the uk, windy across the irish sea, gusts of 50 mph. Always wetter in the west, but some of this rain will push its way eastwards steadily through the day. More cloud, more rain around and stronger winds, but temperatures still near normal for the time of year. That is not going to last beyond wednesday because once that weather front takes the rain away and low pressure moves through, oui air is going to be coming in from the north west. This is returning polar maritime air, colderair, so temperatures will be lower. Having said that, it looks much drier across scotland and Northern England on thursday, the rain out into the north sea, showery bursts of rain affecting southern england and Northern Ireland and wales, but ahead of that drier weather and sunshine in many areas, but temperatures back down to 12 or 1a degrees or Something Like that on thursday. Friday, that showery rain moves northward up towards the midlands, Northern England, southern scotland and still in Northern Ireland, some wet and windy weather lurking across the english channel. These temperatures will end midweek, so again 10 11 , below normal for the time of year. Later on in the week, as the jet stream position changes, it turns colder, high level winds diving to the south of the uk, we are on the colder side of the jet. You can see how undulating the jet stream is there and with that sort of pattern you end up with this idea of a cut off low, a big area of low pressure that will dominate the weather during the weekend and perhaps beyond that as well. This is fairly typical autumn weather heading our way over the week ahead, but in the outlook with that area of low pressure it could be quite windy for a while, a lot of cloud around and some rain from time to time as well. That is it from me. Goodbye. Tonight at ten. The government defends allowing students to return to universities in england, despite coronavirus outbreaks. With some students confined to their rooms, ministers say their studies, must be given a chance. What happens if you cant get out of here because youre not allowed to . People are wanting to drop out. Were not getting the right uni experience, and were not talking about that, of going out and partying, were just. Were not getting the right education. Well have the very latest. Also tonight. The bbc understands a 23 year old man from south london, louie de zoiza, is the suspect in the killing of police sergeant, matt rata na. The moment cardiff went into local lockdown this evening. Three more areas of wales face new restrictions, tomorrow. President trumps pick for the supreme court, prepares for a tough reception from democrats, asjoe
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