Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20200604 : comparemela.com

BBCNEWS BBC News June 4, 2020

All four Police Officers who were present when george floyd was arrested in the us city of minneapolis are now facing charges in connection with his death. Derek chauvin, the officer who was filmed kneeling on his neck, has had his charge elevated to Second Degree murder. The three other Police Officers who were there have all been charged with aiding and abetting murder. George floyds death has sparked huge protests in cities across america. Our north america correspondent, Barbara Plett usher, is in minneapolis. For the past week, protesters have been demanding justice for george floyd, tougher action against the Police Officers who arrested him. Theres been frustration, sadness and pain. But today, finally some news. The very fact that we have failed these charges means we believe in them but what i do not believe is that one successful prosecution can rectify the hurt and loss that so many people feel. The solution to that pain will be slow and difficult work of constructing justice and fairness in our society. These are the four officers who arrested george floyd. The one who pinned him to the ground with a knee to his neck while he struggled to breathe was charged, but not the others, who are now formally accused of playing a role in his death. Today, the family returned to the memorial on the Street Corner where mr floyd took his last breath. Speedy through their lawyer, theyve been calling for the authorities to carry out a thorough investigation into the actions of the police force. We cannot have two Justice Systems in america, one black america and one for white america. We must have equaljustice for the United States of america. Protests that began on the streets of minneapolis spread across the country in demonstrations not seen since the civil rights unrest of the 1960s. Hundreds of thousands of people marched, defying cu rfews, clashing with the police, chanting, i cant breathe, and, black lives matter. The turmoil provoked a threat from the president to deploy that military, something that so alarmed the defence secretary, he publicly opposed it. That option to use milirary forcres in a law encforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort, and only in the most urgent and dire of situations. We are not in one of those situations now. I do not support invoking the insurrection act. The mother of George Floyds 6 year old daughter said hed been a good father who provided for them. He will never see her grow up, graduate, he will never walk her down the aisle. The charges announced today may bring justice for mr floyd, but they wont be enough to quell the demands for a radical reform of the way america polices black people. This feels different from previous protests against Police Brutality. It has galvanised more people across more divides than ever before, a movement against Racial Injustice that will not be easily silenced. The attorney general said the Justice System had failed to investigate and bring to justice these kind of cases in minnesota and across the country, which is an extraordinary statement. Now that the charges have been laid, people will be watching very carefully to see how the prosecution plays out also what happens on the street, whether cases of Excessive Police force against black people continue and how they are handled. Barbara plett usher, bbc news, los angeles. The former american president , barack obama, has said its vital to channel the momentum built up in the recent street protests across the us in order to bring about change. I have to tell you, although i was very young when you had riots and protests and assassinations and discord back in the 60s, i know enough about that history to say there is something different. You look at those protests and that was a far more representative Cross Section of america out on the streets peacefully protesting. And they felt moved to do something, because of the injustices they had seen. George floyds name is the latest in a long list of black americans to die as a result of Police Brutality over many decades. Clive myrie now looks at how a toxic mix of racism and bad policing, has led to the most serious racial unrest in the us, for many years. His report contains images you may find disturbing. Americas original sin perpetuates. The notion of the supremacy of whiteness over blackness has enshrined in slavery. Newsreel where the negroes have come up against determined white resistance, fighting has often broken out. It helps underpin the brutality of some in the police. It helps underpin the poverty of the inner city. And it fundamentally underpins the racial inequality ofa land. Where all are meant to be equal. Tough guy, huh . I have been reporting from the United States for almost a quarter of a century. Clive myrie, bbc news, los angeles. Its a generous nation but, for some, the original sin is still a rule to live by, as slavery morphed into segregation and civil war battle flags became proud emblems of identity. Hail, hail, state police all hail, hail, state police perhaps inevitably, the institution charged for centuries with enforcing discrimination is the one having the toughest time changing. All a troopers life is made for me. Policing in america is opaque theres little transparency. Powerful unions can protect bad cops and the principle of qualified immunity means officers accused of misconduct are almost always given the benefit of the doubt. I think that there are bad apples among many good Police Officers in most departments. But the fact that they dont get outed, quickly, and dismissed, is a problem. The fact that a lot of these people who do get dismissed because of misconduct quickly find themselves recruited by other Police Departments in neighbouring communities. Theyjust go from one place to another. It also doesnt help that americas policing system is fragmented to the point of farce, with around 18,000 different forces. In california, training can last 24 48 weeks while in north carolina, it isjust 16 weeks, half the length of time it takes to become a licensed barber in the state. Whatever the training, the real life fear of stopping a suspect who may be armed in a country awash with guns can lead to bad decisions. Officer you want to go to jail . This is atlanta in georgia. Its after curfew during protests over the death of george floyd. Police stop a car with two College Students inside, who protest they simply got stuck in traffic and didnt mean to break the curfew. The officers arent convinced. The students are tasered. You can hear the tension and fear in the officers voice. Muffled shouting but the students are unarmed. Six officers now face misconduct charges. Rogue cops, inadequate training and weak oversight are a toxic mix. Then add racism a scourge in america that sleeps lightly when it sleeps at all. To wake, all it needs is the slightest provocation, as happened on a minneapolis street one day in may. Clive myrie, bbc news. From monday anyone arriving in the uk will have go into quarantine for two weeks. But the new plans have been heavily criticised by mps on all sides. Almost everyone will now have to to self isolate when they come to the uk. Tom burridge reports. The experience for people arriving into the uk is about to change. From monday, almost everyone will be expected to self isolate for two weeks. So what does it mean for holidays this summer . Should anyone be booking a holiday anywhere in europe right now . Whats your assessment . Are holidays abroad this summer going to happen . You know what the foreign 0ffice guidance is the guidance is that everybody at the moment should avoid non essential travel. Everybody should avoid non essential travel. We have to knock this virus on the head. So how will the quarantine work . When you book your ticket for a plane, train orferry abroad, youll have to provide a uk address when you will self isolate when you return. When home, you will have to spend two weeks at that address. Government officials will carry out random checks to see if people are self isolating. Anyone who breaks the rules might have to pay a £1,000 fine. Enforcement rules might differ in scotland, wales and Northern Ireland. Airlines say the quarantine adds uncertainty, and the boss of one of the worlds biggest travel websites told me brits are looking but not booking. We saw in the uk a lot of searches of people who want to travel outside, but they are not booking like in the other countries because they dont know what will happen when they have to come back. Tens of thousands of people travelled into the uk during the lockdown. The government insists the quarantine wouldnt have been effective at the height of the pandemic because any cases imported would not have had any real impact on the overall prevalence of the virus. Labour and conservative backbenchers disagree. Unfortunately, like too much of the home office handling of the crisis, the management of arrivals to the uk has lacked urgency and coherence. I simply cannot get my head around the Public Health mental gymnastics of this policy. If such a barrier was required, why was it not introduced earlier in the outbreak . Portugal wants brits to travel there this summer and says its negotiating with the uk so, byjuly, people might not have to self isolate when they travel home. Tom burridge, bbc news. Lets get some of the days other news on coronavirus. An experimental vaccine developed at the university of oxford is to be tested from mid june in brazil. Researchers chose brazil because it is in the accelerated curve of the pandemic and 2,000 volunteers are currently being recruited there. The University Says the results will be fundamental for the vaccines approval in the United Kingdom which it says it expects late this year. German chancellor Angela Merkel says the country will plough 130 billion euros around 146 billion into a stimulus package to kick start an economy severely hit by the pandemic. Under the wide ranging measures value added tax will be temporarily slashed, families will receive 300 euros for each child, while those who purchase electric cars will see a government rebate doubled to 6,000 euros. Stay with us on bbc news. Business secretary alex sharma became well and palm along parliament, mopping his brow several times. This spokesman said the mp had been tested since for coronavirus and was awaiting the results. Stay with us on bbc news. Still to come the odyssey is over the russian ship forced to spend six months at sea by coronavirus finally makes it back to home port. The queen and her husband began their royal progress to westminster. The moment of crowning, in accordance with the order of service, by a signal given, the great guns of the tower. Tributes have been paid around the world to muhammad ali, who has died at the age of 74. Outspoken but rarely outfought, ali transcended the sport of boxing, of which he was three times world champion. He was a good fighter and he fought all the way to the end, even through his illness. Yes, he did. Uefa imposes an indefinite ban on english clubs playing in europe. Today is the 20th anniversary of the release of the beatles lp, sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club band, a record described as the album of the century. This is bbc world news. The latest headlines all four Police Officers involved in the death, george floyd, in the American City of minneapolis, have now been formally charged in connection with his death. The British Government has insisted that a 14 day quarantine on people arriving in the country from monday is needed to prevent an upsurge in coronavirus cases. Earlier i spoke to kristen clarke, shes president of the National Lawyers committee for civil rights under law. I asked her if its likely that the new charges will make it harder to get convictions. Well, the very Good Development todayis well, the very Good Development today is that the offending officer has been charged with a higher sentence. The other three officers have been charged with aiding and abetting. Iam pleased been charged with aiding and abetting. I am pleased that state attorney general Keith Ellison has made the decision to elevate the charges in this case. It is most appropriate here, given the gravity of the offence, given the fact his actions, that the officer is actions, that the officer is actions resulted in the loss of life. The state of minnesota has two show the officer used force in a way that intended to kill while committing another felony. What we are hearing is underlining these protests is a desire for reform and accountability of officers in the United States who too often kill with impunity. It is possible, though, isnt it, that there may not be convictions . 0fficers that there may not be convictions . Officers can be reinstated even though they have been sacked, as they often are. And perhaps if there is a conviction, the exclusion of feeling could make this seem like nothing . It is hard to tell what will happen. Will the prosecutor be fair and independent . Are they not biased by a close working relationship with the police at hand was two so the state attorney general is the most appropriate person to be prosecuting this case. This is someone prosecuting this case. This is someone with distance from the fa ct someone with distance from the fact and offices in minneapolis, someone who will carry out the case with integrity. But as a former prosecutor of these kind of cases, they are readily hard and difficult. What you want is and difficult. What you want is a prosecutor who will be fair and independent and leave no stone unturned in uncovering the facts. Someone able to carry out theirjob of resenting those facts to a jury 01 resenting those facts to a jury ora resenting those facts to a jury or a judge at the end of the day. The family and community here is crying out forjustice. I want here is crying out forjustice. Iwanta here is crying out forjustice. I want a view on this from your long experience. Clearly policing is a very dangerous and difficultjob, policing is a very dangerous and difficult job, and policing is a very dangerous and difficultjob, and any employee needs a strong contract and union to protect against abusive employers. Just let everybody we have spoken to about this says Police Unions and contracts are a block to real reform . That is indeed a major issue and it is an issue thatis major issue and it is an issue that is quite right and centre for us. We know the road map to reform, we need bans on chokehold, bans on racial profiling, we need officers to be disciplined and accountable. Too often this is made difficult by collective bargaining agreements which hamstring the ability to put in place meaningful reform that can transform a Police Department and make it possible to hold officers accountable. Its time we start having conversations about Police Unions, their grip on the way policing is carried out in this country is significant. And often and impediment to progress. And it is bizarre and troubling, isnt it, the same forces who were responsible for enforcing segregation are now supposed to frankly, treat African American people the same as everybody else. Underlying all of this is the reality that racism is something we are living within this country. Racism is alive and well. Racism infects every aspect of our justice and well. Racism infects every aspect of ourJustice System, including how communities are policed. Its time we had tough conversations about these issues. Thejudging death of george floyd has rip the band aid off of these issues, forcing a National Reckoning with issues we have tried to avoid forfar too long with issues we have tried to avoid for far too long in with issues we have tried to avoid forfar too long in our country. We had spike lee on the programme just recently. Country. We had spike lee on the programmejust recently. He was making the point that tensions in the United States are going back hundreds of yea rs are going back hundreds of years to slavery, to the horrors of the jim crow years to slavery, to the horrors of thejim crow error, and the things following that, and the things following that, and frustration over poverty and frustration over poverty and deprivation over much worse healthcare for African Americans. This is a very big picture to deal with. Spike lee hit the nail on the head and i couldnt agree more. For too long in our country we have ignored the legacy of slavery. We have been uncomfortable having conversations about racism and the discrimination that remains so pervasive in our society today. The pandemic started the conversation. The pandemic is infecting people across the world and is disproportionately impacting African Americans. And that is because of racism and discrimination. It rears its head in virtually every aspect of our lives. George floyds death is really a straw that has broken the camels backin that has broken the camels back in our country and we are going to have to start getting very comfortable having hard conversations about racism and White Supremacy and the legacy of slavery, and start to confront what we see so often in Police Violence and racial violence which have devastating impacts on the lives of African American

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