and i m gonna address theunited states of america. gary: there s no doubt that night. it was a textbook procedure. i had no choice. i was forced to take a life. i was a white cop whoshot a black 16-year-old. (protestors chanting) natacha: i would like toaddress all law enforcement across the country and around the world. honor the oath. (dramatic music) gary: the other officerskept repeating: he did the right thing.he had no choice. it was a good shoot. reporter: the death ofphillip pannell brought rage the streets of normallypeaceful teaneck, new jersey. m2: this was middle-classmodel city, american. alison: we live in teaneck.this doesn t happen in teaneck. w2: it wasn t the utopia ithought it was for many people. (dramatic music) thelma: we enduredthis pain for 30 years, now we re back here again. crowd: yeah, (music) natacha: on my honor,i will never betray my integrity forthe public trust. m3: the fact of the matter isphillip pannell was executed. m4: i don t care how
normally quiet suburban townof teaneck, new jersey tonight. after a teenager is shotto death by the police. (music) franklin: on thenight of the shooting, the story spreadlike wildfire as news of theshooting spread through the neighborhood,an angry crowd of teenagerscircled officers collecting evidenceat the crime scene, man: they killed that boy incold blood, don t make no sense. shawn: to hear the news,and then to get there and see that there is anactual crime scene now. (music) it was shocking. it was a long night that night. (music) i d like to thank our sponsor liberty mutual. they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. contestants ready? go! only pay for what you need. jingle: liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty.
why did this policeofficer feel it necessary to fire his gunand kill this boy? john holl: there s a lot ofquestions that are unclear and i don t want to prejudgethat at this point. we were told by by witnesses, that phillip had hishands raised in surrender, when he was shot. was that true or not true? we weren t getting anyconfirmation from law enforcement aboutthis one way or another. john holl: we havereceived information to thateffect but all of this will bepresented to the grand jury. police were saying that philliphad a gun in his possession. we haven t seen that gun. john holl: no, we do not. no, we do not. we do know that mr. pannellwas shot, only a single time,
of, go there ride ourbikes, jump, and. yeah, we had,we had a lot of fun, you know,we used to think we was superheroes, like,we would live forever. (music) (unclear police dispatch voice) it s tuesday night, it was raining.it was getting dark. i had a plectron systemwhich is a little pager system fromthe ambulance corps. and i heard a lot ofchatter on the radio. they talked about callingin the prosecutor s office. so i got on the phone and icalled the police headquarters and i spoke to the dispatcherand they said what happened. i got a call from aliquor store owner in teaneck who wasa friend of mine and he just called me up,kind of screaming.
william broughton: icontacted the policeheadquarters to to see what s going on. as soon as ispoke to them, they were kindof under siege, you know,people were at the front door, (music) john holl: i got acall from dennis calo, who was the firstassistant prosecutor in my office and he saidboss, you better get up here, we have a situation. reporter: and angeryfriends of phillip pannell, in front of police calling theshooting cold-blooded murder. a brick hurled fromthe crowd crashed through a police car window. officers retreatedbehind the police tape and two units were removed. reporter2: phillip ssister natacha came here to the scene inshock and disbelief it was almost beyondher comprehension. natacha: it wasa bad dream. i was thinking itwas a bad dream. people were milling around the police station because there was really a, a lack