As explained in detail at justice4kajieme.org,
The execution of Kajieme Powell, ten days after Michael Brown was gunned down by police just 4 miles away in Ferguson, raises two deeply disturbing issues.
First, St. Louis police claimed that Kajieme Powell approached them holding a knife “in an overhand grip” and “came within 3 to 4 feet of the officer” before they fired at least 9 (possibly 12) shots. A video of the events clearly shows that Kajieme did not have a knife in an overhand grip as he approached the officers, nor was he 3-4 feet from the officers when they began firing their guns at him.
We may never know exactly what happened to Michael Brown due to conflicting witness testimony but we have video clearly showing that the St. Louis Police lied about the events leading up to the execution of Kajieme Powell. The American People need to know that when police lie about this type of event and no action is taken by local authorities, the Federal Government will step in and hold local authorities responsible for violating the Civil Rights of the black men they so frequently kill.
Second, Kajieme Powell’s execution reveals the militarization of police training. The video tape reveals that three shots were fired into Kajieme Powell bringing him to the ground. Two unidentified St. Louis Police Officers then fired at least six more shots into the fallen body of Kajieme Powell as he lay at their feet. Multiple “experts” report that this type of execution is standard police practice. Police aim not at stopping a suspect but at pumping enough bullets into the fallen body to assure that it is dead.
In war, the aim of a soldier is to kill the enemy. This should not be how police officers are trained to view the civilians they are responsible to protect. Continuing to fire upon a fallen body, well after it could possibly present a danger, is an extra-judicial execution. It is a form of vigilantism on the part of these white police officers in the aftermath of the riots in Ferguson. One fact is clear: at least six additional shots were fired into Kajieme Powell’s fallen body not to stop his advance upon the police but to assure his execution.
Mr. President, we call upon you to open a Federal Civil Rights Investigation into the execution of Kajieme Powell. Vigilantism by white police officers on angry black men must be stopped. Failure to take action because Kajieme was angry or because he was labelled as “mentally ill” or because he was alleged to have a knife is inexcusable. Three shots brought him down. The remaining shots were an extra-judicial execution.
St. Louis Police must have known they were acting outside the scope of their authority to protect a civilian population or they would not have lied about Kajieme Powell’s execution. They must have known they were behaving like soldiers out to kill an enemy combatant. So they created a false picture of Kejieme Powell to justify his execution.
