(From AFP)
The pattern has become familiar: a black person dies at the hands of police, with video footage of the incident hitting social media and fueling accusations of bias and misconduct.
Over the past week, 32-year-old Philando Castile was fatally shot by police in Minnesota as civil rights investigators probed an incident a day earlier in Louisiana in which 37-year-old Alton Sterling was slain by officers.
They are among a dozen black people killed by police in the United States in the past few years whose deaths were the subject of viral videos that brought forth angry allegations of police brutality.
While the extent of police wrongdoing remains unclear, criminal justice specialists say widespread use of social media and smartphone videos have shined light on these cases, paving the way for changes in policing . Read More