密歇根新闻广播 州警察修复底特律的形象

 

Murder charges have been filed against a former Michigan State Police trooper who shot his taser at at 15-year-old boy as the teen was fleeing from police on an ATV.

The ATV crashed into a parked truck and killed Damon Grimes.

Wayne County Prosecutor¹ Kym Worthy² has charged former trooper Mark Bessner with one count of second-degree murder and two counts of involuntary manslaughter.

That second-degree murder charge carries a maximum sentence of life.

Willie Bell, a member of the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners³ and a retired⁴ lieutenant⁵ from the Detroit Police Department, joined Stateside to share the community's reaction to the charge.

Listen above for the full conversation, or catch highlights below.

On his reaction to the charge

"I'm not surprised. Our prosecutor, Kym Worthy, has been very thorough and addressed issues like this in the past... but it's very significant to Detroiters because you look across this country and even in Michigan it's rather unusual to charge a police officer with murder in the line of duty. I support the decision that was made by the prosecutor, which is in conjunction with the spokesman with the Michigan State Police advocating they were supportive of the decision by the prosecutor Worthy in terms of this particular matter. Due to the circumstance, I think it warrants that type of charge.

"This was a matter of a civil infraction⁶. The person was on an AT vehicle, the officers were in a scout⁷ car, and they violated basic common sense. The procedure for any officer in Michigan, that I'm aware of, you do not taser someone who is driving a vehicle. That is totally improper⁸ and that led to fatality⁹, the person dying. Therefore, it merits that type of charge with a thorough investigation¹⁰ by all concerned parties, and the bottom line is the prosecutor finally made the decision to charge."

On community healing

"I think [the police] have to be progressive in terms of their approach of dealing¹¹ with Detroiters, come out more in terms of community activity, and speak to this issue. ... So as we go forward, I think they have to be more pro-Detroit in terms of the issue. People want public safety, they want law enforcement, but they want fair and constitutional policing in the city of Detroit, and that's regardless of the Michigan State Police or Wayne County Sheriff, or DPD. They want a fair and constitutional policing in Detroit."

1 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

2 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

3 commissioners   

n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官

参考例句：

• The Commissioners of Inland Revenue control British national taxes. 国家税收委员管理英国全国的税收。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The SEC has five commissioners who are appointed by the president. 证券交易委员会有５名委员，是由总统任命的。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

6 infraction   

n.违反；违法

参考例句：

• He was criticized for his infraction of the discipline.他因违反纪律而受到了批评。
• Parking at the bus stop is illegal,Motorists committing this infraction are heavily fined.在公交站停车是违法的，触犯此条的司机将受重罚。

7 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

8 improper   

adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的

参考例句：

• Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
• Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。

9 fatality   

n.不幸，灾祸，天命

参考例句：

• She struggle against fatality in vain.她徒然奋斗反抗宿命。
• He began to have a growing sense of fatality.他开始有一种越来越强烈的宿命感。

10 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

11 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。