Did Reality TV Help Kill This 7-Year-Old Girl?
Here's something you probably never thought about while watching Cops: Does being followed around by a camera crew affect the way police officers do their jobs? That's the question being posed by the family of Aiyana Stanley-Jones. The 7-year-old Detroit girl was shot and killed in her bedroom by a stray bullet last Sunday while police searched for a murder suspect with a camera crew for the A&E series The First 48 in tow.
Details on the shooting are unclear -- as in, the cops aren't sure who was responsible for the fatal shot -- but one fact is indisputable: The offending officers fired a "flash-bang grenade" into Jones's residence, a no-no since it was known to house children. The entire scene sounds like something out of a horror movie. From the Times:
"Soon as they hit the window, I hit the floor and went to reach for my granddaughter," said a distraught Mertilla Jones at a news conference after Aiyana's death. "I seen the light leave out her eyes. I knew she was dead. She had blood coming out of her mouth. Lord Jesus, I ain't never seen nothing like that in my life."
The Detroit police department has contradicted the family's details of the shooting, but no one seems to deny that the flash-bang grenade was used. And therein lies the problem: "Those cameras can influence the behavior of what's already a very dangerous and unpredictable job," said Brian Willingham, a former Flint, Michigan, police officer. Adds defense attorney Thomas Loeb: "I think they're showboating for the camera."
So did the mere presence of the camera crew cause the police officers to act a tad more reckless than usual? And did that recklessness and resulting chaos cause the death of 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones? That those questions even need to be asked is probably as indicting as their answers.
· Tragedy in Detroit, With Reality TV Crew in Tow [New York Times]
Subscribe to the new Movieline on YouTube
Comments
A once proud city is now left with only thousands of crack houses and bordellos. It has become a tourist attraction for drug addicts and johns that have traveled miles in search of a cheap fix or hooker. The only moral foundation left is the store front churches that try to uplift fallen souls. Detroit must be leveled and replaced by a game reserve for animals on the verge of extinction. It could be named Zoo Town.
Detroit has problems without a doubt, but so does all major cities in America. I'm sure the city you live in is no utopia. What about the little girls' death? Are you saying that Detroit's problems justifies the negligent acts of the police?
I feel so bad for that poor girl.
Cue the cover-up and white wash in 5...4...3...
This is one of those stories that really needs to be read by an entire industry of people (both police & Television producers) but won't. No lesson will be learned from this.
All I want to know is why has the girls father not dealt with the idiot cop that killed his daughter "personally"? Some punk cop did that to my kid, there is not a spot on this planet he could hide from me.
Lou
http://www.complete-anonymity.at.tc
dont worry people of detroit
OCP will save you.
How do they not know which officer shot her? Whoever had the gun with one less bullet is obviously the person responsible. In addition, I would expect that the officer who did shoot the girl would have the conscience to turn himself in. Sounds like the other cops are just trying to cover each other.
Of course cops behave differently on camera. They are usually on their best behavior. Anyone who has seen the TV show COPS knows that the cops on the TV show act more professional than the cops in real life. This incident seems to be unusual. While using the flashbang grenade in a home with children is against the rules, I doubt that that is what caused this girl to get shot. And not knowing which cop shot the girl is bullshit. Cops keep detailed records of their bullets. They could easily find out if they wanted to know who it was.
Amen Brother, I await the day this new paramilitary police apparatus comes to relive me of my second amendment rights, I know I'll be leaving this realm on that day, but a few of them will be joining me! That's a guarantee.
Please let it be someone like this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6md92nrth8
Power Hungy Badge Groupies.
Thin blue line of corruption and tyranny. Police currently act like gangs with their "don't rat" bull. All police departments need direct civilian oversight and review. "Who watches the watchers?"
that wasn't suppose to be a reply to you.
Robot Cop would be awesome though
Detroit is the toilet of America. Chicago is the urinal.
i havea f riend that is a detroit police officer and i asked him what happened he said that when they went in to the house the whole family was in there and they told them all to get on the ground and the girls grandmother wouldnt do it and she was pushing and yelling at the officers, and grabbing at them and in the scuffle a gun went of.
Here is the thing when the cops bust in your house cause you're aiding and embedding a murderer, do what they say and all of this could have been avoided. I know it sucks that this girl has died but living up here i can kinda say i am not that sad. Trash often breeds trash
That is pretty crazy. TV has reached an all time low.
This is clearly Obama's fault.
Aiding and embedding?....it's abetting you redneck moron. Just because some UNTRAINED WEAK OLD LADY starts an argument with the HIGHLY TRAINED NINJA OFFICERS doesnt mean the have the right to discharge a firearm without concequence. You are obviously just a racist, ignorant lowlife....and I bet you go to church every week you extremist freak.
What we have here is a display of the "Blue Code of Silence." It's not freaking coincidental no one knows who fired the shot. If questioned about an incident of misconduct involving another officer, it's standard procedure to claim ignorance.
So wait, isn't that obstruction of justice? You know, a crime punishable by several years in prison?
you understand in America you can't take blood samples from everyone just because they live in a high crime area?
Furthermore the no-snitching rule comes from a distrust of the police, something not really found in asia.
Exactly. Cops act like that all the time. The cameras didn't have shit do with anything. They just want something to blame OTHER than the cops.
Citizens of Detroit kill each other by the score each week, but what makes the news? A cop, who either did something right or wrong. We have to find out.
But, imagine if civilian-on-civilian violence garnered such news?
Change would come.
The blame lies solely on the police department not the TV Crew following them around. Has everyone forgotten that without the TV Crew to record the incident the police would have gotten away with this? In my opinion we need more cameras following police, organized and monitored by citizens of the community who have no affiliation towards any government agencies. It's time to hold these killer's accountable for their actions.
Good in theory, but in practice it wouldn't work.
From what I've heard about the recordings from cop car cameras, if they record something that incriminates you, you can bet it will be used in your trial. If it records something that incriminates the cop, you can bet the tape will be "lost" before you can even ask for a copy.
i agree with turdblossom and chris. when something goes wrong, cops will do anything to take themselves out of the spotlight. may aiyana's little soul rest in peace.
Next »