Transcripts For LINKTV Democracy Now 20151228

Snowstorms on the texasmexico border. Record heat from maine to florida. As the warmest year on record comes to a close, extreme weather across much of the United States kills at least 43 people. We will speak with the leading climate scientist about the connection between tornadoes and Climate Change. Then to chicago. It hurts me all over to know the family is going through this tragedy going on, Police Shooting without asking. Why you got to shoot and ask questions later . Amy protests continue in chicago after police shot dead to the africanamericans a , 55yearold africanamerican mother of five and a close student. Could these latest killings force mayor rahm emanuel to resign . We will go to chicago for an update and also speak to a statistician with the Mapping Police Violence Project which has documented how police have killed at least 1152 people in the United States so far this year. And we remember the oscarwinning cinematographer Haskell Wexler. What advice would you have for the next generation coming up . Or to sayilent something is debilitating, and i hope they dont fall victim to that. Has died at wexler the age of 93. We will speak to pamela yates director of rebel citizen, a new documentary about the life and work of Haskell Wexler. All that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. A Police Shooting in chicago has killed two unarmed africanamericans, sparking new calls for change at a Police Department already under heavy scrutiny. Early saturday morning, the father of a 19year old College Student, Quintonio Legrier, called police to report his son was behaving oddly and carrying a metal bat. The father also called the downstairs tenant, 55year old bettie jones, to alert her that police would need to enter through her door. When police arrived, Quintonio Legrier allegedly confronted them in the foyer. Both legrier and bettie jones were killed when police opened fire. On sunday, legriers mother, janet cooksey, spoke as family and friends gathered outside the home. No mother should have to bury her child. And especially under these circumstances. You call for help, the police are supposed to serve and protect us and yet they take the life. What is wrong with that picture . It is a badge to kill . I mean, where do we get our help . Amy bettie jones was the mother of five grown children whom she has celebrated christmas just hours before. Police have acknowledged they shot her by accident. The killings of her new goals for chicago mayor rahm emanuel to resign. Evelyn glover, the cousin of bettie jones, spoke out with a message for the mayor. [indiscernible] i want my cousins death avenged. You killed her in cold blood. Emanuel . Step down. Emanuel, callyour boys. The Chicago Police along the you. Vigilante, you have been sending the Chicago Police out to kill, to do nothing but kill. [indiscernible] because that is your mission, you lying demon. Mayor emmanuel was already under pressure to resign over the more than oneyearold Police Killing of 17 year old Laquan Mcdonald in a potential police coverup. Mcdonald was shot 16 times by white Police Officer jason van dyke. Dashcam video only recently released by court order clearly contradicts Police Claims about the shooting. We will go to chicago for more on the story later in the broadcast. At least 43 people died over the Christmas Holiday weekend in the series of storms that hit the south, southwest and midwest. Missouri and new mexico have declared a state of emergency. Tornadoes were reported in 10 states including michigan which , recorded its first ever tornado in december. The deadliest storms were in texas where at least 11 people , died when tornadoes hit areas near dallas. Now a historic snowstorm is heading toward dallas after causing blizzardlike conditions in new mexico, oklahoma and , western texas. Mississippi, six more in another 10 people died in tornadoes in mississippi, six more in tennessee. Flash floods also killed at least 13 people in missouri, illinois and arkansas where as , much as nine inches of rain fell on some areas. A birmingham, alabama, resident described the destruction after a tornado touched down. Feel thankful just to be alive. Thankful to be alive. It was so horrible. Roof like flying at the cla at the roof. The rain was sowing thick. It was a nightmare. If i had not moved one inch back into taking cover, the whole blast would have been in my bed where i was laying. It blew out the windows. Amy meanwhile, heat records were broken on Christmas Day across the east coast from maine to florida. On christmas eve, the thermometer topped a record breaking 70 degrees in new york city, philadelphia, and washington, d. C. Extreme weather also continues around the world. More than 100,000 people have had to evacuate their homes in areas of paraguay, uruguay, brazil, and argentina amid severe flooding. And british Prime Minister David Cameron has deployed 500 soldiers to address unprecedented flooding in northern england. Scores of flood warnings have been issued across england, wales, and scotland. Well have more on the link between, recordbreaking heat, tornadoes and Climate Change , after headlines of the leading climate scientist. Two mosques have been attacked in separate incidents over the christmas weekend. On Christmas Day, just after hundreds of people finished friday prayers, a twoalarm fire erupted at the Islamic Society of greater houston in texas. Authorities say it was intentionally set. Meanwhile officials in , californias Central Valley are investigating a molotov cocktail attack on the Tracy Islamic Center as a possible hate crime. A study earlier this month found hate crimes against Muslim Americans and u. S. Mosques have tripled since the attacks in paris and san bernardino. The council on American Islamic relations has reported more incidents targeting mosques this year than in any other year on record. The white house is reportedly considering a pentagon plan to maintain at least one base in afghanistan, despite president obamas initial pledge to withdraw most u. S. Troops by the time he leaves office. In october, obama reversed that plan, saying 5500 troops would remain at the country through the end of his term. As the Obama Administration expands its use of special Operations Forces around the world, the new york times, reports the proposal now under consideration would use a base in afghanistan as a hub for special operations troops and intelligence operatives throughout central and south asia. The Iraqi Military says it has liberated the city of ramadi from the selfproclaimed islamic state. Isil seized ramadi in may marking a humiliating defeat for , the iraqi army. For weeks, iraqi forces backed by u. S. Led airstrikes have sought to retake ramadi. In nigeria, the militant Group Boko Haram has attacked the northeastern city of maiduguri , killing at least 15 people and feared the toll may be higher. Its the second assault in days after boko haram invaded a village on christmas, killing at least 14 people. The attack came just after nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari said nigeria has technically won the war against boko haram. Israeli Authorities Say they are investigating newly released video which appears to show jewish extremists celebrating the death of a palestinian toddler in an arson attack last summer. The footage, which aired on channel 10 news in israel, was filmed at a wedding showing two men apparently stabbing pictures of 18monthold ali dawabsheh, who was killed in an arson attack, allegedly by jewish settlers. The fire also killed his parents. Meanwhile, Israeli Government ministers have backed a bill to crack down on human Rights Groups by requiring them to disclose details about funding they receive from governments abroad. Critics say the bill unfairly targets groups critical of the israeli military, like breaking the silence, which receives more than of its funding from half european governments, while shielding rightwing groups that rely on private donors, who are exempt. European officials have reportedly slammed the proposal, calling it remniscent of totalitarian regimes. Japan and south korea have reached a deal aimed at addressing the demands of socalled comfort women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Military during world war ii. The deal includes an apology from japanese Prime Minister shinzo abe and a more than 8. 3 million fund for survivors. In exchange, south korea has agreed not to publicly criticize japan over the issue. Survivors have said the deal falls short of their call for japan to admit legal responsibility and pay formal reparations. In other news from japan, officials on the island of okinawa have sued the japanese government in the latest bid to Block Construction of a new u. S. Military base. Okinawa Authorities Say the japanese government illegally overrode governor takeshia onagas order halting construction earlier this year. Okinawa is home to more than half of the 50,000 u. S. Troops stationed in japan. For decades, residents have demanded the expulsion of u. S. Troops, citing Environmental Concerns and sexual assaults. On the u. S. Campaign trail democratic president ial , contender vermont senator Bernie Sanders says he thinks he can win over trump supporters. Speaking on cbs face the nation, sanders said trump is misdirecting anger over income inequality and stagnant wages. Many of trumps supporters are working class people, and they are angry. And they are angry because theyre working longer hours for lower wages, angry because our jobs have left this country and gone to china or other lowwage countries. They are angry because they cant afford to send the kids to college or cant retire with dignity. What trump asked him with some success is taken that anger, taken those fears, which are legitimate, and converted them into anger against mexicans, anger against muslims. In my view, that is not the way were going to address the major problems facing our country. Amy a new report finds the United States increased its sale of weapons around the world by about 35 last year, even as the overall arms market rose only stayed relatively flat. The congressional report found u. S. Weapons sales increased to more than 36 billion, nearly 10 billion higher than the previous year. The surge was fueled by massive u. S. Arms deals with qatar, saudi arabia and south korea. And the legendary cinematographer and director Haskell Wexler has died at the age of 93. Perhaps best known for his 1969 film, medium cool, which captures the upheaval surrounding the 1968 Democratic National convention in chicago. Wexler won two Academy Awards for cinematography in, whos afraid of Virginia Woolf . And bound for glory, about folk singer woody guthrie. His documentaries tackled issues such as the southern freedom writers of the 1960s, the u. S. Governments destabilization of nicaraguan and support for the contras, u. S. Atrocities in vietnam and torture under the u. S. Backed junta in brazil. In october, haskell what clerk visited democracy now studios and i asked him about his advisory him fill makers. I rode with people on buses and got to know what was important in their lives. I realize theres a whole world right there in my own city that was going on. Unfortunate, the film was very in theceived, not conventional means, but i cant give any advice to young people early just dont overturn , albert early take the system to realize if you want to be an learn, you have to have to be in touch. Unjustt measure success how much money on just how much money you have or how famous you are. Died sunday wexler at the age of 93. We will have more on his legacy later in the broadcast. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. At least 43 people died over the Christmas Holiday weekend in the series of storms that hit the south, southwest and midwest. Missouri and new mexico declared states of emergency. Tornadoes were reported in 10 states including michigan which , recorded its first ever tornado in december. The deadliest storms were in texas where at least 11 people , died when tornadoes hit areas near dallas. As many as 1000 homes were damaged. Now a major snow storm is heading toward the region. The storm has already resulted in blizzard like conditions in new mexico, oklahoma, and western texas. The snowstorm even disrupted the College Football sun bowl being played on the mexico border in el paso. Another 10 people died in tornadoes in mississippi, six more in tennessee. Flash floods also killed at least 13 people in missouri, illinois and arkansas where as , much as nine inches of rain fell on some areas. Meanwhile heat records were , broken on Christmas Day across the east coast from maine to georgia. On christmas eve, the thermometer topped a record breaking 70 degrees in new york philadelphia, and washington, d. C. This weekend of extreme weather comes as climatologists predict 2015 will be the warmest year ever recorded smashing last , years record. So far in 2015 nine out of the 11 months have set a new monthly temperature record. Meanwhile, in south america, as many as 160,000 people have been evacuated due to heavy storms in paraguay, uruguay, argentina, and brazil. We go now to tallahassee, florida, to james elsner professor at Florida State , university and coauthor of the paper, the increasing efficiency of tornado days in the United States, which was recently published in the journal climate dynamics. Professor, welcome to democracy now can you start off by talking about the weather we have seen him especially the tornadoes . Is there a link to Climate Change . First of all, amy, it is really important to note that the link between Climate Change and tornadoes is still in its infancy. Nothing is conclusive. What we do see, though, is that tornadoes seem to be coming in bigger bunches. So in the past, we might see a day with five or six tornadoes. Now were seeing days with 10 to 15 tornadoes. Amy and so talk about those links, the links to both the numbers and also the intensity . Yes, so there are two things that we see. Not only are we seeing tornadoes come in bigger bunches, we are also seeing them last longer. Once they hit the ground, they seem to be lasting longer. Theyre staying on the ground longer, doing more damage because of that. And they are often reaching stronger intensities because of that. Here, we believe, although it is not conclusive, is due to the amount of water in the air. So as the temperatures go up, as we get more heat in the atmosphere, we have more water also in the atmosphere. This is what makes you feel uncomfortable on a hot, sunny day is this water in the air. Water vapor or humidity. Were seeing the humidity go up as the temperatures go up. This humidity is the fuel to keep these tornadoes going and getting stronger. Deaths justber of over the weekend, 43 deaths. Can you also talked about the flooding that we are seeing . Yes, well, again with the extra water in the atmosphere, the rains seem to come in greater downforce. So as the storm system organizes and the rain starts to fall, it comes down heavier and harder, creating flooding situations. Amy you know, there is a lot of coverage of the weather in the United States, but rarely are he two words extreme weather connected to Climate Change or global warming. And you talk about what you think this would be critical in dealing with this issue . I think it is. I think the key here is to understand how the atmosphere theonse to not only increasing temperature, the increasing heat but the increasing water in the atmosphere. It is just water, water vapor that condenses into clouds and produces the rain and the snow and the tornadoes that we are seeing. Days,nd in the last few insight, news, they came out the report that said not only exxonmobil, a story that exposed weeks ago, but they suggest nearly every major u. S. A multinational oil, gas company was aware of fossil fuels impact on Climate Change as early as the late 1970s. Earlier exposes by Insideclimate News and the Los Angeles Times have revealed that exxon scientists knew about Climate Change as early as 1977, and for decades exxon concealed its own findings that the burning of fossil fuels cause global warming, alter the climate and melt the arctic ice. Can you talk about your response to this latest revelation that the entire oil and gas industry knew this. That is really not my area of expertise. It seems consistent with what the scientists knew at the time, especially by the mid1980s scientists were pretty much in agreement that Greenhouse Gases are warming the planet. And to have these companies not respond to that, in fact, hide the evidence, is, in my opinion, not surprising. Made anally, you have report card of the president ial record on Climate Change, their statements. Can you talk about where they stand, republican and democrat . It appears the republicans dont get a very high grade. This was done over a series of weeks when they were debating and tweeting their comments about Climate Change. And a number of climate scientists got together and graded these candidates. By and large, the republicans got poor grades. Democrats did a little better, but Bernie Sanders probably again, there but were a lot of variations in those responses. Amy former governor jeb bush scored the highest, the former governor of florida, among the republicans, 64. He was the only republican candidate who got a passing grade on climate in the exercise. Below, clintons 94, hillaryclinton, where governor omalley with 91, sanders with 87, Chris Christie with 54, Ohio Governor john kasich, 47. Kentucky senator rand paul, 38. Carly fiorina, 28. Your senator, arco rubio, 21. Donald trump, 15. And retired neurosurgeon ben carson, 13. Finally, ted cruz with six thing. Issueed to look at this of the gop debate on Climate Change. This is Ohio Governor john kasich who held the distinction of being the only candidate to even say the word climate, but it wasnt to address it, in the last debate. First and foremost, we need to go and destroy isis and we need to do this with our arab friends and our friends in europe. And when i see they have a Climate Conference over in paris, they should have been talking about destroying isis because they are involved in virtually every country across this world. Amy Professor James elsner, your response . Well, clearly, there are lots of problems in the world but Climate Change is an important problem that needs to be addressed now because of the consequences. And i think as the science becomes more and more clear, the extreme events we have seen not only in this country, but around the world, indicate this is a serious problem going forward. Amy i want to thank you for being with us, Professor James elsner, teaches that Florida State university and coauthor of the paper, the increasing efficiency of tornado days in the United States. And you can go to democracynow. Org to see our two weeks of conference of coverage of the u. N. Climate summit that took place in paris. When we come back, we are headed to chicago. Holies killed another two africanamericans holies killed another two africanamericans, a 19 euro College Student and a 55yearold mother. The demand for mayor manual plus resignation mayor manuals resignation are increasing. Hes on vacation. [music break] amy this is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. A Police Shooting in chicago has killed two unarmed africanamericans sparking , grief, outrage and new calls for change at a Police Department already under heavy scrutiny. The killings happened Early Saturday Morning when officers responded to a domestic disturbance call. The father of a 19yearold College Student, Quintonio Legrier, had called police to report his son was behaving oddly and carrying a metal bat. The father also called the downstairs tenant, 55year old bettie jones, to alert her that police would need to enter through her door. When the police arrived, Quintonio Legrier allegedly confronted them in the foyer. Both legrier and bettie jones were killed when police opened fire. On sunday, family, friends and Community Members gathered outside the home to remember the victims and demand justice from the police. Quintonio legriers mother, janet cooksey, was among those to speak out. Something just needs to be done. I used to watch the news daily, and i would grieve for other mothers, other family members. And now today, i am grieving myself. When does it come to an end . I mean, when do we get answers . I mean, like she said, what happened to tasers . Seven times my son was shot. No mother should have to bury her child. And especially under these circumstances. You call for help. The police are supposed to serve and protect us and yet they take the life. What is wrong with that picture . Its a badge to kill . I mean, where do we get our help . Amy janet cooksey, mother of Quintonio Legrier. He reportedly had suffered Mental Health issues in recent months. The other victim, bettie jones, was the mother of five grown children, with whom she had just celebrity christmas hours before. She was also involved in community activism. Police have acknowledged they shot her by accident. Jacqueline walker, who grew up with bettie jones, remembered her friend. I knew bettie as a kid. We grew up on congress. We played together every day. And for me to look at the news and see that she was shot down, a beautiful woman, a beautiful woman it hurts my heart to see that. It hurts me all over just to know the family is going through this tragic thing that is going on, Police Shooting without asking. Why you got to shoot and ask questions later . Amy full details have not been released, but family members say bettie jones was shot four times and Quintonio Legrier seven times. Saturdays shooting comes amid continued protests in chicago over the more than yearold Police Killing of 17yearold Laquan Mcdonald and a potential police coverup. Mcdonald, who was africanamerican, was shot 16 times by white Police Officer jason van dyke. Dashcam video only recently , released by court order, clearly contradicts Police Claims about the shooting. Laquan mcdonald posed no threat and was walking away from the officers at a distance as van dyke jumped out of his police car and opened fire. The controversy has ousted the Chicago Police chief and the head of the citys independent Police Review authority, which investigates Police Shootings. Its also sparked calls for mayor Rahm Emanuels resignation. The mayor says the Police Review authority is probing saturdays killings. Since 2007, the authority has found wrongdoing in only two out of more than 400 Police Shootings. Meanwhile, a yearend report from the Mapping Police Violence Research project says Police Killed at least 1152 people in the United States in 2015. In 14 cities, every Single Police victim was africanamerican. For more, we are joined by two by aislinn sol, chapter coordinator for black lives matter chicago, which has organized a series of protests over the killing of Laquan Mcdonald. We welcome you to democracy now why do you start off by explaining to us what you understood happen this weekend. The day after christmas at 4 00 in the morning, after both families celebrated the holiday with loved ones, the police were called by the father of Quintonio Legrier in order to respond to a Mental Health, Domestic Violence situation as what the media has been calling it. From based onn, the evidence, based on the reports we have now, we believe the police shot through the door, killing bettie jones, who was a member of action now, a Grassroots Organization here in chicago, a 55yearold mother of five, and shot her in the neck, killing her on the way to the hospital. And then they shot and killed 19yearold quintonio. And they shot him seven times. He was not holding a gun. He was not pointing a gun at them, which is usually the excuse that is given for these types of murders. Unfortunately, now we have two people who have been taken away from us too soon by this corrupt system. Amy there have been calls for the resignation of chicago mayor rahm emanuel since the Chicago Police Department Released the video of the shooting Laquan Mcdonald after holding it for more than 400 days. Evelyn glover, cousin of bettie jones who was killed by a Chicago Police officer on saturday, echoed calls for his ouster. [indiscernible] i want my cousins debt avenged. You killed her in cold blood. Rahm emanuel step down. Call your boys. The Chicago Police belong to you. Now you vigilante, your been sending the Chicago Police out to kill. Served and protect because thats your mission, you lying demon. Was evelyn glover, the cousin of bettie jones was killed by Chicago Police early on saturday morning. Aislinn sol, what about this demand . He should resign, and not only should he resign, Anita Alvarez and the entire city council should resign. And charges of obstruction of justice should be brought forth where applicable with all parties involved in the coverup of Laquan Mcdonalds video as well as the coverup of Ronald Johnsons dashcam video. Ronald johnson was killed eight bys prior to Laquan Mcdonald george tournaments and that video was hidden for over 400 days. And after a foia lawsuit filed by Ronald Johnsons mother, it was finally released. There are multiple guilty parties here and all of them need to be held accountable, including criminal charges of obstruction. Amy earlier this month, chicago mayor rahm emanuel apologize for the killing of laquan. This is what he said. I am the mayor. As i said the other day, i own it. I take responsibility for what happened because it happened on my watch. And were going to fix it. I understand it is my responsibility with you. And if were also going to begin the healing process, the first step in that journey is my step. And im sorry. Amy earlier this month, the Justice Department announced it will launch a wideranging investigation into the Chicago Police department. This is attorney general loretta lynch. Today im here to announce the department of justice has opened an investigation into whether the Chicago Police department has engaged in a pattern or practice of violations of the constitution or federal law. Specifically, we will examine a number of issues related to the Chicago Police departments use of force, including its use of deadly force, racial, ethnic, and other disparities in its use of force, and its account ability mechanisms. Such as disciplinary action and its handling of allegations of misconduct. Amy the announcement came after the protest over the Police Killing of Laquan Mcdonald was shot 16 times. The officer, jason van dyke, was indicted for firstdegree murder only after the same day, hours after dashcam video was released, that clearly contradicted Police Claims about the shooting in the video was released only because it was ordered by a judge to be released. Aislinn, your response to help the mayor is dealing with this . Now he is on holiday in cuba, is that right . Yeah, he is, which is ironic given the u. S. Embargo against cuba. However, his response is completely inadequate. He is unable and incapable of solving this problem, which is partially responsible for. This problem of Police Terrorism in our communities has existed for many, many decades, leading way back to the assassination of chairman fred hampton senior. And what we know with fred hampton, senior, murder, with the torture that had gone on through the former Police Commander jon burge of over 119 black and latino men, to home in square operating today im a to what happened with rekia boyd to Ronny Johnsen to Laquan Mcdonald, all of this indicates that there is a deep, embedded structural pattern and practice of terrorism and murder that has withon for decades complicit participation by many levels of government in chicago. His apology means nothing. Amy you mention fred hampton, who together with mark clark, they were leaders of the black Panther Party in chicago, killed by police december 4 1969, killed by Chicago Police. You are wearing a tshirt that sean ett, amadou, and that is as far as i can see. The first is him until who is also from chicago. That was back in the 1955 summer, killed in mississippi. This 14 euro boy killed by a chicagob, has shaped politics or had a tremendous influence and i should say, for many, many decades. We work closely with the family. Ill they just celebrated the 60th anniversary of remembering his life, which just occurred this past year. They been at the forefront of fighting against terrorism, against black people historically we can reference his mother mamie who helped lead the creation of the black Power Movement and Civil Rights Movement by her steadfast refusal to remain silent. And we see other mothers duplicating that today like dorothy homes, the mother of ronald johnson, and the mother of quintonio, who are both steadfast in refusing to remain silent and demand injustice. Amy chicago has long had this long history of police torture. Earlier the seer, you mention the notorious Chicago Police commander jon burge was released from a Halfway House after he served 4. 5 years for lying under oath. He was accused of leading a torture ring that interrogated more than than 100 africanamerican men in chicago in the 1970s and 1980s. Routinely with plastic bags and electric shock, suffocation with plastic bags and typewriter covers were used among other methods, to extract confessions from men who were later shown to be innocent. The chicago torture justice memorial project documented some of the mens stories. This is shadeed mumin. And cap me real tight. Cut my circulation off. He went out of the room for about an hour, came back and tried to ask me what i could tell about the robbery. I said, i dont know what youre talking about. He said, oh, youre going to play tough. He said, ive been known to get out of people what i want. He got really upset. He said, i will make you talk. Rushed to the typewriter and grabbed the plastic cover and just crammed it down over my head just like a madman. I was trying to get my arms from out behind the chair but i couldnt do anything. I passed out. Like i said, he gave me a breath of air. I came to, conscious, and he said, are you ready to talk . I said, i dont have anything to say. The third time is when i said, ill tell you whatever you want to know, man, just dont do it no more. Amy so that is talking about what happened under john burges reign in the Chicago Police department. Aislinn, what youre demanding now, and this last week of 2015 . We are demanding that homan square be closed because although we have the name of john burge and we know that the torture of over 119 black and latino men occurred, torture continues to happen today under and emanuels watch at home hom square. A we aren demanding it immediately be closed and all parties responsible for the operation be investigated and charged with criminal acts. We are demanding that the Chicago Police immediately citye disinvested by the government. The city governments budget accounts for 40 of the operating budget goes toward cpd. Meanwhile, we have schools that have closed. Chicago conducted the largest u. S. Mass school close again history. And we need all of those schools reopen. Rahm emanuel closed half of the Mental Health centers. We need all of those reopen. We need a jobs program, free and a portable housing for the homeless. We need an intense disinvestment in this police system, and we need a complete political uprising and reorientation of how the government is run in chicago. Amy aislinn sol, thank you for being with us, chapter coordinator for black lives matter chicago. We turn to san francisco. 1152e killed at least people in the United States and 2015. In 14 cities, every Single Police victim was africanamerican. Sam sinyangwe is a policy analyst and Data Scientist with Campaign Zero and Mapping Police violence. Can you talk about these findings . Theres been a lot of demand for their even to be Data Collected in this country around Police Killings in the racial breakdown of those killings. How did you do this . As you mentioned, the federal government come including the fbi, bureau of justice statistics, and cdc did not collect conference of data on Police Killings nationwide. Fourthly, crowd sourced efforts have actually been able to collect the type of conference of data to do this type of analysis. What we did was merge those data sets, fill in the gap, identify folks by race whether they were armed or unarmed, and then make sense of all the data, and understand which places were sort of hotspots for Police Violence and was among the Racial Disparities in the data could tell us about how Police Violence impacts different communities. Amy talk about this number, both the over 1115 People Killed by police in the last year, and 14 cities ue of and explain which are these 14 cities, where the only people that Police Killed were africanamerican. Absolutely. What we found was 1190 people to date have been killed by police in the United States this year. That includes a number of folks, about one quart of which were in americas 60 largest cities. 14 of those cities, the Police Departments actually killed black folks exclusively. Some of these cities include places like baltimore, st. Louis , and other places where we have seen significant unrest over some of these practices that seem to target africanamerican communities. To give you a sense of what that means, nationwide, black folks are three times more likely to be killed by police and twice as likely to be unarmed when killed by police. Clearly, these protests, what were seeing in chicago and other places, is rooted in an experience of discriminatory policing that needs to and. Amy explain how the fbi operates in terms of reporting Police Killings. The fbi relied on the voluntary reporting mechanism. So they basically depend on Police Departments to report Accurate Information on Police Killings. As weve seen in entire state, sometimes individual jurisdictions, Police Departments have not stepped up and provided that data. So the best date on Police Killings nationwide comes from local media reports, someone killed by police, usually almost actually come almost all the time, it is mention them the media. I calling those reports, codingting them, and them, we have come up with these numbers. Amy what is the correlation between high crime rates and high Police Killing rates . What were for particularly from the right is and from police folks there is a connection between Violent Crime in communities and Police Violence. Communitiesy say, with a lot crime, have more police and police get a more situations where they use force. However, what we found with the data is that isnt true. That there are communities with a lot of crime, places like newark, detroit, some of the most high crime cities in the country, that have comparatively fewer Police Killings and places that actually have much lower crime, places like bakersfield. When you map this across the one of the things we have done with the 60 largest cities in ceviolence. Org, there is no correlation between the crime in the city and Police Killings. Amy can you talk about these killings that happened this weekend in chicago . What does this say how does this fit into the data you have found around chicago . The killing of bettie jones and quintonio actually shows us that it is part of a broader pattern and practice of discriminatory policing, policing that targets africanamericans. Or example, since 2013, said 2013, 2014, 2015, Chicago Police have killed 46 people. 72 of those people have been black. Over 95 of the people of color. So when we look at the disparities in the data, it is clear police in chicago are applying a different standard to africanamericans in particular, than they are to other communities. And i think that is what is undergirded and the context for a lot of the unrest we see. Amy what are the cities with the highest rates of Police Killings . A couple of cities, one, upon the city, consistently. This year has been the second highest rate of Police Killings. Last jury was number one. Bakersfield, california, another city. St. Louis, another city. They have among the highest rates of Police Killings in the nation. To give your sense of how high were talking, of black men that were killed by police at a rate higher than the u. S. Murder rate in sales last year. That is true for 17 of the 100 largest cities in america. Amy based on the data that you have reviewed, what are you calling for . Really, we are calling for transformation in a way that policing operates in this country. We have launched a platform, Campaign Zero, articulate a 10 point plan for ending Police Violence in america including things like empowering civil you and oversight, ensuring there is Video Evidence protecting the right of citizens to film the police and having body cameras, independent investigations and prosecutions, limits on the use of force, the policies that govern the use of force, as well as things like Fair Police Union contracts and making sure the police Union Contracts do not have provisions that, for example, delete officers records of past misconduct. In chicago, the Police Union Contract mandates that officers does binary records be deleted and destroyed after five years. So there are many officers that actually may have a history of violence, that weekly dont know about because the unit contract mandates that information be removed. Amy amy , thank you for being with us policy analyst and data , scientist, member of the Planning Team of Campaign Zero and Mapping Police violence. Speaking to us from san francisco. When we come back, we remember the filmmaker Haskell Wexler. Stay with us. [music break] amy voices from the march on washington in 1963, from haskell film,r plus 1965 the bus. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. We turn now to remembering the legendary filmmaker Haskell Wexler, who died this week and at the age of 93. One of the nations most revered cemetery first, he was perhaps best known for his 1969 film medium cool. E1 two Academy Awards for cinematography and whos afraid of Virginia Woolf. He also received five Oscar Nominations and an emmy. Tackling the southern freedom writers of the 1960s, u. S. Governments destabilization of nicaragua by supporting the contras. U. S. Atrocities in vietnam, torture under u. S. Backed junta in brazil. In 2012, he returned to chicago to make 4 days in chicago, which is about the 2012 meeting antinato. He has a red distinction of receiving a star in the hollywood walk of fame as a cinematographer. In october, he visited the democracy now studios and i asked him about the making of his film in 1968 at the chicago National Convention medium cool. I went home to chicago and i realized from people i know in the Progressive Movement that the Democratic Party didnt take some stand on the war, there was going to be theater am a there was when we demonstrations, there was going to be the kinds of things that would get the attention of the media. So i wrote a script with studs terkel, who reintroduced me to my town through the appellation appalachian community. , iwhen i wrote the script went back to shoot the film, i did not realize that also, i knew the authorities were planning to suppress whatever demonstration there was. Medium cool or they act like hippies, you know . Amy Haskell Wexler speaking in october on democracy now i also asked about his advice for young film makers. I shot a film in l. A. Called lets Writers Union and for four years i rode with people on buses. I got to know what was important in their life. I really is a result world right there in my own city that was going on. Fortunately, the film was very well received. But i conventional way, cant give any advice for young people except just dont itrarily take the system to realize that if you want to be an artist, you have to learn, you have to be in touch. Unjustt measure success on just how much money you make or how famous you are. By pamelae joined yates director of the , documentary rebel citizen, about the life of renowned cinematographer Haskell Wexler. She is cofounder of skylight pictures and currently the creative director of skylight, a company dedicated to creating documentary films that advance awareness of human rights and the quest for justice. Pamela, this film you did, rebel citizen, goes through Haskell Wexler plus life. Can you talk about this 60 year body of work . Absolutely. Haskell is so well known as a brilliant some of target for. Yet this incredible body of work that was lesserknown. And because one of the favorite things that we would do together was talk about politics, argue about politics am a debate continue i wanted to the conversation that we had had over 30 years and make it into a featurelength film called rebels citizen that would highlight his incredible body of work as a politically engaged documentary film maker. It is funny because he is such a force of nature. We never actually thought he would die. He was superhuman to so many of his colleagues and friends and those of us he mentored. And yet now we really must celebrate a life well lived, a life of struggle, and so much of his political activity and struggle was carried out through his creation of this body of work as a documentary film director. Amy so talk about woes so unusual about Haskell Wexler. For example, how he filmed medium cool about the protest outside the dnc, both fiction and documentary all caps i. He really open the door to this hybrid filmmaking which now has gained so much traction and one of the most interesting faces document or cell makers are working on code. Ant is extraordinary, he was artist. He was able to have one foot in the world of hollywood and understand how to create and evolve the artistry of filmmaking as well as to have one foot in the world of activist politics. And bring his artistry into that world to activate that world, to tell compelling stories, to help people. I know this is one of the most interesting moments for him in American History right now when there is an electoral season going on and he was very politics. N electoral and people are in the streets, especially around the black lives matter movement. He was very active until the day he died. Amy i want to go to a clip of medium cool from 1969. You say you have come to do something if human interest, makes a person wonder whether youre going to do something of interest to other humans or whether you consider the person human and him you are interested. And you have to understand that, too. You cant just walk in out of your arrogance and expect things to be like they are, because when you walked in city hall and all the masking indications media. And you are the exploiters. Youre the one to distort and ridicule and emasculate us. And that aint cool. Amy pamela yates, your final comment . And then we will do a post show and posted online. That is something that someone could be saying right now here and today about how the Mainstream Media covers movements that are happening all around us and in the streets. Ofkell was a fierce critic the Mainstream Media. And summit of his documentary films are skeptical of what is the political line that we are being taught through Mainstream Media. And he wanted to have an alternative. Amy pamela yates, we will continue this conversation and post it at democracynow. Org. Pamela yates is the director of the documentary rebel citizen, about the life of renowned cinematographer Haskell Wexler. Democracy now is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. Email your comments to outreach democracynow. Org or mail them to democracy now p. O. Box 693 new york, new york