每日英語跟讀 Ep.883: Thousands of Complaints Do Little to Change Police Ways 濫權施暴已久…投訴成千上萬 美警鐵板一塊

In nearly two decades with the Minneapolis Police Department, Derek Chauvin faced at least 17 misconduct complaints, none of which derailed his career.

沙文在美國明尼蘇達州明尼亞波利斯市警察局服務近20年，投訴他行為不當的案件至少有17起，沒有一起危及他的職涯。

Over the years, civilian review boards came and went, and a federal review recommended that the troubled department improve its system for flagging problematic officers.

多年來，負責調查投訴警察案件的機構「平民調查委員會」來來去去，而聯邦政府評鑑後，曾建議出問題的明尼亞波利斯警局，改善其標記行為失當員警的制度。

All the while, Chauvin tussled with a man before firing two shots, critically wounding him. He was admonished for using derogatory language and a demeaning tone with the public. He was named in a brutality lawsuit. But he received no discipline other than two letters of reprimand.

沙文在這個警局服務期間經常出事。他與一名男子激烈爭執，而後開了兩槍，致使該男子重傷。他因為出言貶損和羞辱民眾而遭申誡。他被控告行徑殘忍。不過，沙文除了收到兩封訓斥信之外，沒受到任何懲戒。

It was not until Chauvin, 44, was seen in a video with his left knee pinned to the neck of a black man, prone for nearly nine minutes and pleading for relief, that the officer, who is white, was suspended, fired and then charged with murder.

一直要到沙文被人錄下用左膝蓋壓住一名非裔男子（佛洛伊德）頸部、使該男子趴在地上近9分鐘並求他放開，沙文這個44歲的白人警察才被停職、革職，再被控以謀殺罪。

His case is not unusual. Critics say the department, despite its long history of accusations of abuse, never fully implemented federal recommendations to overhaul the way in which it tracks complaints and punishes officers—with just a handful over the years facing termination or severe punishment.

沙文這樣的案例並不罕見。批評者說，明尼亞波利斯警局雖然被控濫權施暴已久，卻從未徹底執行聯邦建議，改善追蹤投訴案和懲戒員警的機制，多年來遭到免職或嚴懲的員警屈指可數。

Even as outrage has mounted over deaths at the hands of the police, it remains notoriously difficult in the United States to hold officers accountable, in part because of the political clout of police unions, the reluctance of investigators, prosecutors and juries to second-guess an officer's split-second decision and the wide latitude the law gives police officers to use force.

儘管警察暴力執法致死已使民怨高漲，在美國，要追究員警責任仍是難到不行，部分是因為警察工會的政治影響力很大，調查人員、檢方和陪審團不願質疑員警在剎那間做出的決定，以及法律賦予員警寬鬆的動用武力空間。

Police departments themselves have often resisted civilian review or dragged their feet when it comes to overhauling officer disciplinary practices. And even change-oriented police chiefs in cities like Baltimore and Philadelphia—which over the last few years have been the sites of high-profile deaths of black men by white officers—have struggled to punish or remove bad actors.

在改革懲戒員警的作法方面，警局本身常抗拒平民調查委員會的建議，或在執行時拖拖拉拉。就算在近年來發生多起白人警察執法過當、致使非裔男子死亡的知名案件的城市，如馬里蘭州巴爾的摩、賓州費城等，有心改革的警察局長懲戒失職員警或將他們免職也相當吃力。

Across the country, civilian review boards—generally composed of members of the public—have been notoriously weak. They gather accounts, but cannot enforce any recommendations.

全美各地平民調查委員會通常由公眾組成，力量之小眾所周知。委員會蒐集各種陳述，卻無法落實任何建議。

In 2012, the civilian board in Minneapolis was replaced by an agency called the Office of Police Conduct Review. Since then, more than 2,600 misconduct complaints have been filed by members of the public, but only 12 have resulted in an officer being disciplined. The most severe censure has been a 40-hour suspension.

2012年，明尼亞波利斯平民委員會由名為「警察行為審查辦公室」的機構取代。從那時起，公眾共計提出2600多件警察行為不當的申訴案，但其中僅12件以懲戒員警作結，最嚴重的懲戒是停職40小時。

Source article: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0067/353904/web/