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But Jay Kanzler, a lawyer for the convenience store and its employees, strongly disputes that version of events, and said the new footage is unrelated to Mr. Brown's later visit to the store.

"There was no transaction," Mr. Kanzler said. "There was no understanding. No agreement. Those folks didn't sell him cigarillos for pot. The reason he gave it back is he was walking out the door with unpaid merchandise and they wanted it back."

Regardless of what happened at the store in the early-morning hours, the new security footage does not resolve long-simmering questions about Mr. Brown's encounter with Officer Darren Wilson along a Ferguson street that day. Officer Wilson, who claimed that he feared for his life and had been assaulted by Mr. Brown, was cleared of criminal wrongdoing by a county grand jury and federal civil rights investigators. He resigned from the Police Department.

Mr. Brown's death and the sometimes violent protests that followed raised broad questions about how police officers treat black people, both in the St. Louis area and across the country, and many remain steadfast in their belief that Mr. Brown was murdered.

Protesters were particularly offended by the Ferguson Police Department's decision to release the video that showed Mr. Brown shoving the store clerk, perceiving it as part of an effort to defame and demonize the young man. Ms. McSpadden, who also spells her first name as Lezley, questioned why that tape was released publicly while her son's earlier visit to the store had been kept quiet.

"They destroyed Michael's character with the tape, and they didn't show us what actually happened," said Mr. Pollock, who spent more than two years in Ferguson conducting research for his documentary, and who questions the decision to not charge Officer Wilson. "So this shows their intention to make him look bad. And shows suppression of evidence."

The St. Louis County Police Department briefly mentioned Mr. Brown's early-morning visit to the store in a lengthy report on the case, which tipped Mr. Pollock off to the existence of an additional video.

Sgt. Shawn McGuire, a spokesman for the county police, said in an email on Saturday that footage of the earlier encounter had not been released because it was not relevant to the investigation.

He added later that he could not confirm the video's authenticity.

Spokesmen for the city of Ferguson and the St. Louis County prosecutor's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday.

Mr. Brown's parents have filed a federal lawsuit against Officer Wilson, the city of Ferguson and the former Ferguson police chief. A civil trial is scheduled to start next year.

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police brutality  misconduct and shootings

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New Ferguson Video Adds Wrinkle to Michael Brown Case

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But Jay Kanzler, a lawyer for the convenience store and its employees, strongly disputes that version of events, and said the new footage is unrelated to Mr. Brown's later visit to the store. "There was no transaction," Mr. Kanzler said. "There was no understanding. No agreement. Those folks didn't sell him cigarillos for pot.

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A police officer has been acquitted in relation to the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, who died in hospital from spinal injuries a week after police took him into custody. But what happened the day of his arrest in Baltimore?

THE ARREST

Mobile phone video from a bystander shows Gray's arrest on 12 April around 08:40 local time (13:40 BST), on Presbury Street in the Sandtown neighbourhood of the city.

Two men in yellow uniforms with "Baltimore Police" labels are seen pinning the black man to the ground.

A court document says that Gray had "fled unprovoked upon noticing police presence". It also said that Gray "was arrested without force or incident".

But state prosecutor Marilyn Mosby said that Gray was illegally arrested, assaulted and falsely accused of carrying an illegal switchblade.

An officer said that he had found it clipped inside Gray's trouser pocket after he had been detained.

Ms Mosby said that it was actually a legal knife and therefore did not justify arrest.

Police Commissioner Anthony Batts has also stated that it is not clear why Gray was stopped by the officers as there "is no law against running".

Billy Murphy, a lawyer hired by the Gray family agrees. "Running while black is not probable cause," he said.

THE POLICE VAN

In the mobile phone video, Gray can be heard screaming repeatedly before a police van arrives to take him away.

Ms Mosby said his arms had been handcuffed behind his back and that his requests for his inhaler had been ignored.

Police officers had also put him into a tactical hold before putting him in the back of the van, she said.

Police officials have said that Gray should have received medical attention before he was put inside the van.

While the van was en route to the police station, officers put Gray in leg irons after an officer determined that he became "irate".

Ms Mosby has said that the officers had then loaded him "on his stomach head first into the wagon."

Gray was not restrained with a seat belt, which is a violation of police department policy.

The officers later failed to get medical help even though Gray requested it repeatedly, Ms Mosby said.

The officers then stopped to pick up another suspect in a separate case while on the way to the police station.

Ms Mosby called the stop "grossly negligent". She said that Gray had asked for medical help and complained of trouble breathing.

Police timeline of the arrest

Sunday, 12 April, 0839: Officers approach Gray and he flees on foot

0840: Gray arrested on corner of Presbury Street, Sandtown

0842: Police request a van

0854: Van departs with Gray inside, conscious and speaking

0854-0924: Van makes a total of four stops between arrest and police station arrival

0924: Police request paramedics to take Gray to hospital

THE INJURIES

Officer Miller's document says that Gray "suffered a medical emergency" while he was being transported and that he was "immediately transported to Shock Trauma via medic".

He arrived in a critical condition.

Briefing the media on the results of an autopsy on Monday, Deputy Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez said Gray "did suffer a very tragic injury to his spinal cord which resulted in his death".

Mr Murphy said that Gray's "spine was 80% severed at his neck".

The other suspect in the van was on another side of a metal barrier preventing him from seeing or making contact with Gray, Mr Rodriguez said.

"I know that when Mr Gray was placed inside that van, he was able to talk, he was upset," Mr Rodriguez said. "And when Mr Gray was taken out of that van he could not talk and he could not breathe."

Gray's family told the Baltimore Sun newspaper that doctors at a local hospital performed surgeries to treat three broken vertebrae and an injured voice box. He was comatose until his death on Sunday.

The paper reported on Tuesday that "significant force" would be required to inflict those injuries. It said, citing medical experts, that the force would be similar to that of "the impact from a car accident".

THE FALLOUT

Demonstrators have taken to the streets to protest against excessive use of force. In early days, most of the protests were calm. Many carried banners, some of which read "Black lives matter" - an echo of similar protests around the country in recent months.

But a week after Gray died, and with police releasing little new information about the circumstances of his death, the demonstrations took a violent turn.

On 27 April, a funeral service for Gray was held. That afternoon and evening rioters tore through parts of Baltimore leaving a path of debris, burnt or smashed cars, and looted storefronts.

The National Guard was dispatched in an attempt to restore control and the mayor ordered a curfew between the hours of 2200 and 0500.

On 1 May the state prosecutor announced criminal charges against six police officers involved in the case.

The first trial's jury could not reach a verdict and the second officer on trial was acquitted.

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A police officer has been acquitted in relation to the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, who died in hospital from spinal injuries a week after police took him into custody. But what happened the day of his arrest in Baltimore?

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On July 9, Sandra Bland was all smiles.

The 28-year-old Illinois native made a series of excited phone calls to friends and family, celebrating what she thought was a successful interview for a job at Prairie View A&M University in Texas, her alma mater.

On July 10, Bland made a very different phone call from inside the Waller County jail in Hempstead, Texas. She'd been "roughed up" by a police officer, she told a close friend.

By July 13, Bland was dead. She'd been found hanged inside her jail cell in what officials described as a suicide.

Bland's jailhouse death, and the arrest that placed her in a cell in the first place, have come under intense scrutiny as family members and friends have said the woman had no reason to kill herself. The circumstances of her arrest and death - which include a police video that contained mysterious skips and repeats, as well as an autopsy report suggesting Bland may have tried to harm herself in the weeks before she died - have left many scratching their heads.

Who was Sandra Bland, and why was she in Texas?

Bland was born and raised in Naperville, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. A bright-eyed social justice advocate, she studied agriculture at Prairie View A&M, the historically black university where she interviewed for a job this month.

Bland also was a member of the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority and the school's marching band. Family members said she was extremely excited about the chance to return to her alma mater as an outreach coordinator.

"I know what my purpose is," Bland had said as she planned to travel to Texas, according to her mother. "My purpose is to go back to Texas and stop all social injustice in the South."

What happened during Bland's July 10 arrest?

The day after her job interview, Texas State Trooper Brian T. Encinia stopped Bland's car in Prairie View.

A video, shot from the dashboard camera inside a police cruiser, initially shows a routine traffic stop. Encinia asks for Bland's license and registration and she complies. But when he returns to Bland's car and asks her to extinguish her cigarette, the interaction turns into a tense confrontation.

Encinia tells Bland to exit the car when she refuses to put out her cigarette. A verbal tug-of-war ensues as Encinia repeatedly yells for Bland to step out of the car and she refuses, demanding to know why.

As the argument continues, Encinia appears to draw his stun gun.

"I will light you up. Get out. Now. Get out of the car," he shouts in the video.

Encinia handcuffs Bland mostly off camera, but the recording captured audio of a shouting match between them. Bland can be heard screaming obscenities at Encinia, demanding to know why she is being arrested. A scuffle ensues out of sight, with Bland screaming that Encinia is about to break her wrists. She then cries out that Encinia slammed her to the ground and she hit her head.

In an arrest affidavit, Encinia wrote that Bland kicked him. She was booked on suspicion of assaulting a public servant, a felony, and held in lieu of $5,000 bail.

READ MORE: Sandra Bland's arrest video: What it shows

What do police say happened in the Waller County jail?

Despite her family's claims to the contrary, Texas investigators have repeatedly described Bland's death inside the Waller County jail as a suicide.

A female police officer found Bland's body hanging from a privacy partition at 9:07 a.m. July 13. Bland hanged herself with a plastic bag, police say.

The full autopsy report found no defensive wounds on Bland's body or any other indicators of a violent struggle, Waller County Assistant Dist. Atty. Warren Diepraam said.

Medical examiners did find 30 cuts on Bland's left wrist. The state of healing and scabbing around each wound suggested the cuts may have been inflicted several weeks before Bland was jailed.

Bland also told police she attempted suicide last year after suffering a miscarriage, according to booking documents.

What does Bland's family say happened in the jail?

Bland's loved ones have repeatedly rejected the idea that the 28-year-old committed suicide. But they have little explanation for what happened.

Family lawyer Cannon Lambert has repeatedly called for an independent investigation. Lambert and Bland's relatives have noted inconsistencies in several statements released by police, and they have expressed grave concern over a gap in the jailhouse video from the final hours before she was found dead.

Six minutes of footage, from 7:18 a.m. to 7:24 a.m., are missing. The gap came immediately after an officer last checked on Bland. Waller County Dist. Atty. Elton Mathis, who released the video, said the camera's motion sensor is to blame for the gaps.

LaVaughn Mosley, a 57-year-old Prairie View resident and longtime friend of Bland's, spoke to her at the jail the day before she died. Bland called Mosley from jail on July 10, saying that she had been "roughed up" by police and that she planned to pursue charges against the officer, he told The Times.

Friends and family said there was no evidence that Bland had been treated for depression or that she had committed suicide. They also pointed to inconsistencies in the booking documents, such as what year she allegedly tried to commit suicide and whether she was on medication for epilepsy.

On July 28, law enforcement officials released several hours of additional video from the jail's surveillance cameras, meant to dispel rumors that Bland was abused or killed while in police custody.

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FOR THE RECORD
July 28, 3:58 p.m.: A previous version of this article said new video was released on July 27. It was released on July 28.

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The new footage shows Bland being processed and interviewed by jailers. Her belt was removed from her possession by jail employees, which is common law enforcement practice. The video also shows Bland making at least six phone calls during that time, though the recording does not provide sound.

The footage also shows Bland being escorted back to her cell, apparently uninjured, the morning of her death.

What is the status of the investigation?

Texas Rangers and the FBI are reviewing Bland's arrest and death. Mathis, the local district attorney, said evidence could be presented to a Waller County grand jury by August, although it remains unclear what, if any, charges would be pursued.

Mathis also said a panel of attorneys who have no ties to the district attorney's office will work alongside prosecutors to review evidence and make recommendations regarding what to present to a grand jury.

A toxicology report released July 27 confirmed initial reports that Bland had marijuana in her system when she died. Additional testing will be needed to determine the quantity of marijuana that was in Bland's body, which could reveal whether she had used a large amount of the drug before her arrest or if she used marijuana while in jail.

The prosecutor said there was no evidence Bland used the drug while in custody.

What has happened to the officer who arrested Bland?

Encinia has been placed on administrative leave for violating department procedures and the Department of Public Safety courtesy policy, officials said. The department has not elaborated on the violations.

Why are people saying the footage of Bland's arrest was tampered with?

After a year marked by high-profile claims of police brutality against unarmed black men and women, Bland's case, and the recording of her arrest, have drawn intense scrutiny.

The video of Bland's arrest was met with immediate skepticism after viewers noted there were multiple instances when the footage seemed to skip or repeat itself but the audio continued smoothly.

Texas officials said the recording was not edited and blamed the problems on trouble uploading the video. They then released a version of the video that is about three minutes shorter than the one they originally posted.

The second video appeared to show a continuous record of the July 10 roadside encounter that preceded Bland's arrest in Prairie View.

What have experts said about the tactics Encinia used and the decision to arrest Bland?

The Times asked four nationally known police experts to review the video and comment on Encinia's tactics.

They all agreed: He had the legal authority to ask her to step out of the car. It was less clear whether he could tell her to extinguish her cigarette. That, they said, depended on whether the cigarette was perceived as a threat.

Most agreed that given Bland's belligerence and behavior, Encinia could have perceived her as representing a potential danger. But Seth Stoughton, a University of South Carolina law professor and former Florida police officer, said Encinia missed several opportunities to deescalate tension and should have explained in calmer tones what he was doing and why. Encinia's initial demand for Bland to exit the car after she refused to put out her cigarette may have had more to do with ego than good policing, Stoughton said.

READ MORE: Can a police officer order you out of your car? Experts weigh in on Sandra Bland case
Times staff writer Christina Littlefield contributed to this report.
Follow @JamesQueallyLAT for breaking news

READ MORE: Full coverage of Sandra Bland's death

UPDATES:

July 28, 3:37 p.m.: This story was updated with additional information about jailhouse surveillance footage released by local prosecutors.

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What happened to Sandra Bland before she died in a Texas jail?

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On July 9, Sandra Bland was all smiles. The 28-year-old Illinois native made a series of excited phone calls to friends and family, celebrating what she thought was a successful interview for a job at Prairie View A&M University in Texas, her alma mater.

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What happened in the encounter between Officer Darren Wilson and Michael Brown? Here is a look at what is known and what remains to be discovered.

Three minutes - that is how long it took from the time Officer Darren Wilson confronted teenager Michael Brown at 12:01, and 12:04 when other officers arrived on the scene to find Brown dead.

Those three minutes, and the fallout that followed, have been the source of protests, headlines and general unrest in the St Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri. But what exactly happened in that time is still a source of confusion.
How many times was Michael Brown shot?
According to an autopsy conducted at the request of Brown's family, the teenager was shot at least six times, including twice in the head and four times in his right arm.

The autopsy, conducted by private pathologist Dr Baden, also revealed that Brown could have sustained two additional re-entry wounds.

According to Dr Michael Baden, Brown was killed by one of the bullets that struck the top of his head and entered his skull.

Details leaked from the official county autopsy published in the St Louis Post-Dispatch in October also reported that Brown had been shot six times.
Do the autopsies show who was at fault?
The private autopsy commissioned by Brown's family and the leaked official county autopsy report appear to give different accounts of what happened.

Forensic pathologist Shawn Parcells, who assisted Dr Baden in the family's autopsy, said that one of the gunshot wounds to Brown's arm could have occurred as he had his hands up, but it remains unclear if that was the case.

This particular arm wound could have been sustained while Brown had his back to the officer or while he was facing the officer with his arms in a defensive position.

Dr Baden said that there was no gunshot powder residue on Brown's skin, indicating that he was shot from more than 2ft (.6m) away, although the exact distance between Brown and Mr Wilson at the time of the shooting remains unknown.

But the official county autopsy report appears to contradict this.

The report said Mr Brown had residue "consistent with products that are discharged from the barrel of a firearm" on his thumb, indicating he had been shot in the hand at close range.

This could support Mr Wilson's account of a struggle in the patrol car during which Mr Brown reached for his weapon before he was shot and killed.

How does this compare with witness statements?

Dorian Johnson, Mr Brown's friend who was with him during the shooting, said that the confrontation began as a scuffle at the police car window with Mr Wilson still seated inside. Mr Wilson fired his weapon out the window of the vehicle, said Mr Johnson, and the two teenagers took off running down the street.

While Mr Brown was running away from Mr Wilson, Mr Johnson says that his friend was shot once from behind and then turned to face the police officer while raising his arms in the air. According to Mr Johnson, the officer fired several more shots at Mr Brown before he fell to the ground.

Tiffany Mitchell, another eyewitness, recalled a similar narrative in an interview on CNN. She said that Mr Brown briefly struggled with Mr Wilson while he was still seated in the police car.

During the struggle, Ms Mitchell says that the officer shot his gun through the window. Following the first gunshot, Mr Brown ran down the street, and the officer got out of his vehicle and shot again, alleges Ms Mitchell.

But the Washington Post has reported that a number of unnamed black witnesses have provided testimony to the St Louis county grand jury supporting Mr Wilson's account of events.

The newspaper said seven or eight African American eyewitnesses have provided testimony consistent with Mr Wilson's account, but none have spoken publicly out of fear for their safety.

The day after the shooting, St Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar told reporters that Mr Brown or Mr Johnson allegedly pushed Officer Wilson back into his car as he was trying to get out, and proceeded to physically assault the officer. At some point, they struggled over Mr Wilson's weapon. A shot was fired in the car, at which point the officer got out of vehicle, and shot Mr Brown.

There have been a number of unofficial statements detailing Mr Wilson's version of events in the media, including the description given to a local radio station by a woman who identified herself as "Josie".

According to Josie, when Mr Wilson tried to get out of his car, Brown pushed him back in, and punched him in the face. Mr Wilson reached for his gun, but Brown grabbed it. When Mr Wilson pushed Brown away, the gun went off inside the car.

Josie said Brown then ran off and taunted Mr Wilson when he told the teenager to freeze. Brown then rushed at the officer at full speed, which is when he was shot dead.

CNN has reported that Josie's account matches with the account given by Mr Wilson to the St Louis grand jury.

What next?

The St Louis grand jury decided on 24 November not to charge Officer Wilson over the killing after examining evidence from the shooting and hearing from 60 witnesses.

A separate investigation is being carried out by the US Justice Department into possible civil rights violations.
The workings of the St Louis grand jury explained

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What happened in the encounter between Officer Darren Wilson and Michael Brown? Here is a look at what is known and what remains to be discovered. Three minutes - that is how long it took from the time Officer Darren Wilson confronted teenager Michael Brown at 12:01, and 12:04 when other officers arrived on the scene to find Brown dead.

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Aug. 9, 2014 An unarmed 18-year-old black man named Michael Brown was shot and killed by Darren Wilson, a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo., after an altercation in the street. Brown's body was left where he fell for hours, stoking outrage among family and neighbors and beyond. Within days, the national media had descended to cover the shooting and its tumultuous aftermath. "His death immediately sparked outrage, with protests and vigils beginning that day and showing no sign of abating on Monday," The Washington Post's Mark Berman wrote. "The reaction took a violent turn on Sunday, as some protesters began looting businesses in the Ferguson area over several hours, leaving a trail of broken glass and burned-out storefronts in their wake." A U.S. Department of Justice investigation later found racial bias in Ferguson's police and court system. But Wilson, who resigned in November 2014, was not prosecuted. The deaths of Brown, Walter Scott, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray and other unarmed black men during interactions with police galvanized the Black Lives Matter movement, which began as a hashtag on social media after the 2013 acquittal of George Zimmerman, who fatally shot unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin. In June, the city of Ferguson settled a wrongful-death suit filed by Brown's parents for $1.5 million.
- Annys Shin

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Recalling the protests, riots after fatal police shooting of Michael Brown

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Aug. 9, 2014 An unarmed 18-year-old black man named Michael Brown was shot and killed by Darren Wilson, a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo., after an altercation in the street. Brown's body was left where he fell for hours, stoking outrage among family and neighbors and beyond.

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As the nation reels from a series of high-profile fatal shootings of black men by police officers, many have decried the lack of readily available data on how racial bias factors into American policing. But while it's true that there is no adequate federal database of fatal police shootings (F.B.I. director James Comey has described the lack of data as "embarrassing and ridiculous"), there exists a wealth of academic research, official and media investigations, and court rulings on the topic of race and law enforcement.

The Hive has collected 18 such findings below. This list is not exhaustive, and does not purport to comment on the work of all police officers. It is, rather, merely a digest of the information available at present. Sometimes, studies and investigations reveal evidence of intentional bias; other studies point to broader societal and institutional factors that lead to implicit bias. Taken together, the research paints a picture of a nation where a citizen's race may well affect their experience with police-whether an encounter ends with a traffic stop, the use of police force, or a fatal shooting.

POLICE KILLINGS OF UNARMED AMERICANS

2. An independent analysis of Washington Post data on police killings found that, "when factoring in threat level, black Americans who are fatally shot by police are, in fact, less likely to be posing an imminent lethal threat to the officers at the moment they are killed than white Americans fatally shot by police." According to one of the report's authors, "The only thing that was significant in predicting whether someone shot and killed by police was unarmed was whether or not they were black. . . . Crime variables did not matter in terms of predicting whether the person killed was unarmed."

HOW POLICE DETERMINE WHOM TO STOP

In San Francisco, "although Black people accounted for less than 15 percent of all stops in 2015, they accounted for over 42 percent of all non-consent searches following stops." This proved unwarranted: "Of all people searched without consent, Black and Hispanic people had the lowest 'hit rates' (i.e., the lowest rate of contraband recovered)." In 2015, whites searched without consent were found to be carrying contraband at nearly two times the rate as blacks who were searched without consent.

"African Americans are more than twice as likely as white drivers to be searched during vehicle stops even after controlling for non-race based variables such as the reason the vehicle stop was initiated, but are found in possession of contraband 26% less often than white drivers, suggesting officers are impermissibly considering race as a factor when determining whether to search," the authors wrote. Nearly 90 percent of documented uses of force by the Ferguson Police Department were used on African-Americans, and every documented use of a police canine bite involved African-Americans.

8. A 2015 analysis by The New York Times found that in Greensboro, North Carolina, police officers "used their discretion to search black drivers or their cars more than twice as often as white motorists-even though they found drugs and weapons significantly more often when the driver was white." That pattern held true for police departments in four states. In Greensboro, " officers were more likely to stop black drivers for no discernible reason. And they were more likely to use force if the driver was black, even when they did not encounter physical resistance."

9. A 2013 ruling by a New York Federal District Court judge found that the New York Police Department's "stop and frisk" practices violated the constitutional rights of minority citizens of the city. Between January 2004 and June 2012, the city conducted 4.4 million stops. Eighty-eight percent of those stops resulted in no further action, and 83 percent of the stopped population were black or Hispanic, despite the fact that those minority groups, together, made up just over half of the city's overall population. (The number of stop-and-frisk stops has dropped dramatically since its peak in 2011.)

10. A 2011 investigation by the Justice Department found that the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, headed by Joe Arpaio, had "a pervasive culture of discriminatory bias against Latinos," and that the office also tried to interfere with the department's investigation. The sheriff's office "engages in racial profiling of Latinos; unlawfully stops, detains, and arrests Latinos; and unlawfully retaliates against individuals who complain about or criticize [the office's] policies or practices," the report's authors said. (Arpaio responded by saying, "We are proud of the work we have done to fight illegal immigration.")

RACE AND THE USE OF NONLETHAL FORCE

11. A controversial working paper by Harvard professor Roland Fryer Jr. found that police officers are more likely to use their hands, push a suspect into a wall, use handcuffs, draw weapons, push a suspect onto the ground, point their weapon, and use pepper spray or a baton when interacting with blacks. The study found no evidence of racial bias when it comes to police shootings, but Fryer's methodology has come under criticism. The study relied on police reports, which have been previously shown to be a flawed data set, and its finding on justified shootings focused largely on data from Houston, Texas. (Fryer defended his work, but admitted his research is far from perfect.)

12. A study by the Center for Policing Equity found, as characterized by a preview in The New York Times, that "African-Americans are far more likely than whites and other groups to be the victims of use of force by the police, even when racial disparities in crime are taken into account." The study looked at 19,000 use-of-force incidents between the years 2010 and 2015.

WHEN OFF-DUTY OFFICERS ARE KILLED BY POLICE

FINDINGS ON THE USE OF HANDCUFFS

16. A Stanford study of police practices in Oakland, California, found that officers were disproportionally handcuffing blacks. "Regardless of the area of the city, disproportionate treatment by race was similar and the raw totals were stunning," according to a Washington Post summary of the findings. The Post continues: "2,890 African Americans handcuffed but not arrested in a 13-month period, while only 193 whites were cuffed. When Oakland officers pulled over a vehicle but didn't arrest anyone, 72 white people were handcuffed, while 1,466 African Americans were restrained. " The researchers also found significant differences in the way officers spoke to African Americans: "Using only the words an officer uses during a traffic stop, we can predict whether that [officer] is talking to a black person or a white person" with 66 percent accuracy.

STUDIES THAT FOUND LITTLE OR NO EVIDENCE OF ANTI-BLACK BIAS

17. There are some studies that draw other conclusions. Research by a Washington State University professor found that, while shown video simulations, officers were less likely to shoot unarmed black suspects than unarmed white suspects. They also took an extra 0.23 seconds, on average, before firing on black suspects in the simulations. "We found that officers were slightly more than three times less likely to shoot unarmed black suspects than unarmed white suspects," the researchers noted, while allowing for the possibility that the officers might act differently in live situations, and that the officers may have adjusted their behavior because they were being tested.

18. In a 2007 study, University of Chicago researchers used simulations to compare the abilities of police officers and the general population to determine whether to shoot a target that was flashed before them. The targets featured a mix of armed and unarmed black and white people. While "both samples exhibited robust racial bias in response speed," researchers concluded that "officers outperformed community members on a number of measures, including overall speed and accuracy." The bias related to response speed was found to be anti-black.

Protesters Carry Images of Eric Garner's Eyes

Photograph by Jessica Lehrman.

Jordan Davis's Father (in light hat, above "L")

Ron Davis, Jacksonville, Florida: "I want the world to change, instead of being so violent. I'm here basically for the young people. The young people have made a decision: we're not going to accept our family members being gunned down by law enforcement whose duty it is to protect and serve us."

Photograph by Jessica Lehrman.

William, Manhattan (right): "I'm tired of seeing young brothers and sisters being killed on a day-to-day basis, and there not being any justice for it."

Takira, Manhattan: "I'm tired of seeing these cops getting away with this scumbag activity. It's just not fair anymore. I'm tired of it."

Photograph by Jessica Lehrman.

Andrea, Boston (left): "I am marching because I think when anyone is subjected to excessive police violence, that all of us are threatened."

Rosamond, Brooklyn: "It has gone beyond the tipping point. Too many deaths. It's time for something to change, and more than just body cameras."

Photograph by Jessica Lehrman.

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What the Data Really Says About Police and Racial Bias

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As the nation reels from a series of high-profile fatal shootings of black men by police officers, many have decried the lack of readily available data on how racial bias factors into American policing. But while it's true that there is no adequate federal database of fatal police shootings (F.B.I.

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The city of Ferguson, Missouri, has been a flashpoint for nationwide protests since the killing of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer last year.

Protests in Ferguson followed Michael Brown's death and a grand jury declining to charge the officer with murder. A justice department investigation has also found widespread alleged racial bias in the police force.

Several days after the justice department report was released in March, two police officers were shot and injured. Later in August, a man was critically injured in a gunfire exchange with police during a rally marking the one-year anniversary of Brown's death.

Why are they protesting?

Demonstrators are calling for more action to be taken following the release of a federal report that alleged overwhelming racial bias in the town's policing.

Ferguson's police force has faced severe criticism since the shooting of Michael Brown in August 2014, leading to the sacking or resignation of several officials, including police chief Thomas Jackson.

Initially, the demonstrations focused on Ferguson but in November they spread to other US cities after a jury decided not to charge police officer Darren Wilson over the killing.

Mr Wilson is white. Mr Brown was black. The demonstrators see the case in terms of racism and police brutality.

Following the release of the justice department report, the US authorities vowed to reform the police force, possibly by dismantling it.
Race in America: The big question
What exactly happened in Ferguson?

The exact details of what happened that day remain disputed by police, eyewitnesses and family members.

What is known for certain is that around midday on 9 August 2014, Mr Wilson was driving a police car and encountered Mr Brown and a friend walking down a street.

Minutes later 18-year-old Mr Brown was dead, suffering at least seven gunshot wounds, according to county prosecutor Bob McCulloch. His body lay in the street for four hours before it was removed.

Mr Wilson fired a total of 12 bullets, though investigators were unclear exactly how many of the 12 struck Mr Brown. One injury may have been a re-entry wound.

What does Officer Wilson say happened?

Officer Wilson says he confronted Mr Brown and Mr Johnson at around midday on 9 August. The officer, who was in his vehicle, says he told the men to move to the pavement because they were walking down the middle of the road, holding up traffic.

The men ignored his request. When the officer spoke to the men again, he realised they were suspects in a robbery reported nearby.

He radioed for more officers and reversed his vehicle to block the men's way. Officer Wilson says he tried to open the door of his vehicle but Mr Brown slammed it shut. The officer says Mr Brown struck him in the face when he tried to use the door to push him back.

Officer Wilson says he drew his gun and threatened to shoot Mr Brown, fearing another punch to the face. Mr Brown is said to have challenged him, reaching through the window to grab the gun. The officer says a scuffle took place in which the weapon was fired twice but remained with him.

Mr Brown and Mr Johnson ran off. Officer Wilson left the vehicle and ran after them. Officer Wilson says he asked Mr Brown to get on the ground. But, he says, Mr Brown turned around and charged at him, with a hand reaching under his shirt in the waistband of his trousers.

Officer Wilson says he fired several shots at Mr Brown, who was gaining on him.
Official account of the final 90 seconds Timeline of shooting
What do other witnesses say happened?

Dorian Johnson was with Michael Brown at the time. After the initial exchange, Mr Johnson says the policeman reversed his vehicle, reached out and grabbed Mr Brown by the neck. The men engaged in a "tug of war", he says, holding on to each other's shirt and arms.

Mr Johnson says he heard Mr Wilson threaten to shoot. He did not see Mr Brown punch the officer and he did not believe Mr Brown had grabbed the officer's gun.

He says Mr Brown stopped when the officer ran after him, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. Mr Johnson says Mr Brown was shot in this position - rather than while charging at the officer.

There are other witnesses who support what Officer Wilson says happened, but they haven't spoken to the media.
Conflicting testimonies
What did the jury decide?

In November, St Louis County grand jury and the US justice department failed to find enough evidence to bring charges against Officer Wilson.

The panel of jurors was composed of 12 citizens picked at random. Six were white men, three were white women, there was one black man and two black women.

They had heard testimony from scores of witnesses, as well as from forensic and medical experts. The evidence from witnesses was often contradictory.

Some of it had supported Officer Wilson's version of events. Other witness statements had appeared to support the account of Dorian Johnson, Mr Brown's friend who was with him when he died.

Unusually, St Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch did not recommend any charges against Officer Wilson to the jury. This caused anger in Ferguson as critics said it showed an unwillingness to prosecute.
When can police officers shoot?
Why has there been criticism of the legal process?

"This process is broken," said the Brown family's lawyer, Benjamin Crump.

Justice had not been served, he said, because Darren Wilson had not been cross-examined when he gave evidence to the grand jury.

Mr Crump also identified what he said were inconsistencies in the officer's evidence and condemned the "symbiotic relationship" between prosecutor Mr McCulloch and the local police force.

Critics of Mr McCulloch have also expressed concern about his impartiality. His father, a police officer, was shot dead by a black man in the 1960s.
The grand jury explained
What did the justice department investigation find?

The US justice department opened two investigations after Mr Brown's death. The first did not recommend any federal civil rights charges against Mr Wilson, given the high legal standard needed to so.

But a second investigation into the Ferguson police force and court system at large found widespread racial bias in the city's institutions including -

Police were quick to escalate force and when they did, African-Americans accounted for 90% of officers' use of force

Explicit racial bias in communications between police and court

The court's practices impose unnecessary harm, overwhelmingly on African Americans, including arrest warrants are issued if fines are not paid, instead on the basis of public safety

Many officers appear to see some residents, especially those who live in Ferguson's predominantly African American areas, less as constituents to be protected than as potential offenders and sources of revenue for the city

Mr Holder himself called the report "searing" and suggested that while the available evidence did not support the argument Mr Wilson acted illegally, it was not hard to understand why protests had erupted in the town.

"Amid a highly toxic environment, defined by mistrust and resentment, stoked by years of bad feelings, and spurred by illegal and misguided practices - it is not difficult to imagine how a single tragic incident set off the city of Ferguson like a powder keg," Mr Holder said.
The damning report that made Ferguson's police chief quit
What happens now?

Police Chief Tom Jackson was the sixth person to be fired or resign from Ferguson's city government after the publication of the report.

Protesters took to the streets hours after his resignation to call for more heads to roll.

But as a relatively low-key demonstration was breaking up after Mr Jackson's resignation, two St Louis County police officers were shot and injured by gunfire.

On 9 August, a year after Michael Brown was killed, a man was shot and injured during a gun battle with police at a protest rally to mark the one year anniversary.

The justice department will look for changes in Ferguson police force and court system, and have reserved their right to enforce needed changes through a settlement.

St Louis police chief Jon Belmar has demurred over whether his police force could effectively take over the city's police department.

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How one shooting sparked national protests

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The city of Ferguson, Missouri, has been a flashpoint for nationwide protests since the killing of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer last year. Protests in Ferguson followed Michael Brown's death and a grand jury declining to charge the officer with murder.