美國警察"正當殺人"危機

“I can’t breathe” — the dying words of Eric Garner, who was killed in a police chokehold in July — has become a national rallying cry.

“我無法呼吸”，這是今年7月被一名美國警察鎖喉殺死的埃裏克•加納(Eric Garner)臨死前說過的話。它已成爲近日美國各種全國集會上的一個口號。

Across the US, those words appear on protesters’ banners. They also serve as a metaphor for a justice system that is on the cusp of forfeiting its legitimacy. The decay extends far wider than the “justifiable homicide” that describes the 400 or more deaths every year at the hands of US law enforcement officers.

這句話出現在美國各地抗議者的標語上。它還是一個正喪失合法性的司法體系的象徵。這個體系的腐朽遠遠不止於“正當殺人”——每年死於美國執法警察“正當殺人”的有400人甚至更多。

Antiquated grand jury hearings, grossly overcrowded prisons, the militarisation of police equipment, overambitious US attorneys — all feed into a larger crisis of US justice. In the wake of the decisions not to prosecute officers in the Ferguson and Staten Island killings, President Barack Obama has called for a “national conversation” to rebuild trust in local police forces. That is a bare minimum. Mr Obama should launch a root-and-branch review of a system that needs saving from itself.

陳舊的大陪審團聽證會體系、極度擁擠的監獄、警用裝備的軍事化、野心過大的美國律師，這些都造成了美國司法體系的更大危機。在大陪審團決定不起訴弗格森市和斯塔滕島殺人案中的警察後，美國總統巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)呼籲展開“全國性對話”，以重建民衆對地方警察力量的信任。這只是最起碼的。奧巴馬應徹底重新評估這個亟需自救的體系。

The crisis extends beyond race. Protesters have understandably focused on the fact that both men — Garner and Michael Brown — were African-American and that their police killers were white. It is undeniable that black Americans are disproportionately more likely than other ethnic groups to be the victims of police shootings, to go to jail for crimes on which others are fined and to be sentenced to death row.

此次危機超越了種族問題。確實，加納和邁克爾•布朗(Michael Brown)兩人都是非洲裔美國人，而殺死他們的警察都是白人，抗議者聚焦於種族是合情合理的。不可否認，相對於其他族裔人羣，美國黑人更有可能成爲警方槍擊的犧牲品，更有可能入獄（同樣的罪名，其他種族的人可能只會被罰款），甚至更有可能被判死刑。

There is a huge imbalance in the US penal system. All Americans shouldbe concerned. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, more than half of the 426 “justifiable homicides” that occurred in 2012 were white. By comparison there were zero police killings in neighbouring Canada that year. US law enforcement agencies conduct roughly 50,000 Swat raids on private homes each year, mostly in search of drugs. These cover every racial group.

但美國刑罰體系嚴重失衡，這是所有美國人都應關心的。根據聯邦調查局(FBI)的數據，在2012年的426起“正當殺人”案中，有超過一半的被殺者爲白人。相比之下，在鄰國加拿大，當年未發生一起警察殺人事件。美國執法機構每年大約有5萬起特警搜查私人住宅的事件，多數是搜查毒品。這些涉及所有種族。

Using armoured personnel carriers and stun grenades, these operations could as well be taking place in Baghdad during the height of the Iraq insurgency. Often they result in deaths. Invariably they spread terror.

這些行動動用裝甲運兵車和震撼手榴彈，現場情形簡直堪比伊拉克暴亂最嚴重時期的巴格達街頭。這些行動常常導致人員死亡，無一例外地導致恐懼蔓延。

It would be a travesty were Mr Obama’s plea for dialogue to be monopolised by race. That would imply the US justice system was basically sound except for its racial bias. The latter is a window on a far larger problem. Put simply, America’s civilian police culture is turning paramilitary.

如果奧巴馬所呼籲的對話只集中於種族問題，那麼這將是一種對事實的歪曲。這將暗示，除了種族偏見以外，美國司法體系基本上還是良好的。種族偏見給我們提供了一個發現更嚴重問題的機會。簡單來講，美國的平民警察文化正走向準軍事化。

In the past five years, Washington has transferred $18bn worth of Pentagon equipment to law enforcement agencies — in most cases without training on how to use it. It is increasingly common to see officers dressed in fatigues like soldiers in a conflict zone. There are few instances in which an officer who kills an unarmed civilian can be prosecuted, or even removed from his job.

過去5年，美國政府將價值180億美元的國防部裝備移交給執法部門，但在多數情況下沒有培訓他們如何使用。人們越來越經常看到，像士兵一樣身穿迷彩服的警察出現在衝突地區。殺害手無寸鐵的平民的警察幾乎沒有一個被起訴，甚至都不會被撤職。

Requiring them to wear body cameras — as Mr Obama is now urging — only addresses part of the problem, which extends to the judicial system itself. Garner’s death was captured on an iPhone video. It is hard to watch it and conclude that this was anything other than an unjustifiable homicide. Yet the officer who choked him to death will not be prosecuted.

要求警察隨身配備攝像機（正如奧巴馬現在敦促的那樣）只會解決一部分問題，更大的問題延伸到了司法體系本身。一段iPhone視頻記錄下了加納的死。看完後，我們很難做出結論說這不是一起非正當殺人事件。然而勒死他的那名警察將不會被起訴。

Mr Obama has asked the Department of Justice to review both grand jury decisions under federal civil rights law. But the burden of proof is very high. He has also called for more police training. These are minor steps. A far larger national inquiry is urgently needed. The police are there to serve the public, not the other way round. In the US — of all countries — this should never be forgotten.

奧巴馬已要求司法部根據聯邦民權法評估大陪審團的這兩項裁決。但舉證很難。他還呼籲展開更多警員培訓。這些都是次要的。現在亟需一項範圍更大的全國性調查。警察的責任是爲公衆服務，而不是反過來。在本該是所有國家表率的美國，這點永遠不應被忘記。