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Assignment: Unarmed Black Male

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Unarmed Black Male

02/02/2017 GMT

BBC World Service - Assignment, Unarmed Black Male

Did a white US police officer break the law by shooting dead an unarmed black youth?

The tragic story of two American men with troubled backgrounds: One a young black suspected shoplifter – the other the armed police officer sent to intercept him.

Late last year, a highly unusual trial concluded in the United States: A policeman was charged with first degree murder.
 
US police officer Stephen Rankin had responded to a report of shoplifting at a Walmart store the year before. Minutes after arriving at the premises, he shot and killed the 18 year old black suspect, William Chapman.

Chapman was just one of 306 black men who were killed by police in the US that year, but just 14 police officers faced any charges - Rankin was one of them.

With extraordinary access to the prosecution and defence, as well as Chapman's family and friends and those closest to Officer Rankin, this powerful documentary follows the drama as the trial unfolds. And as the court heard, both Chapman and Rankin had troubled backgrounds leading up to the tragedy of the young man’s death.

(image: Police Officer Stephen Rankin. Permission for use given/Circuit of Virginia.)

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