Police-reform activist Michael Bell returns to the show to discuss his efforts to reform police conduct and receive justice for his son’s killing. Bell details the tragic events that led to his son’s shooting in 2004 and the subsequent cover up and political masquerade. Ultimately the Bell family was awarded with a record civil rights settlement—which they used to fund their mission to change the law. In April 2014, thanks to Bell’s efforts and on the back of immense public pressure, the state of Wisconsin passed a law forbidding any police department from investigating itself in police shootings.
Michael Bell is a retired U.S. air force lieutenant colonel. His website is MichaelBell.info where you can watch his documentary “Forensically Impossible” and sign his petition to re-open the case into his son’s death.
Discussed on the show:
- “His son was killed by police. He spent almost $65K to ask for an investigation.” (Miami Herald)
- “‘Forensically Impossible: Anatomy of a Police Cover-Up” (MichaelBell.info)
- “Air Force Col. Buys 24 Billboards To Expose Cops Who Executed His Son” (The Free Thought Project)
- “Wis. bill mandates rules for officer-involved deaths” (USA Today)
- “Wisconsin police fatally shot 24 people in 2017, nearly three times more than Minnesota officers” (Post Crescent)
- “Wisconsin Police beat and kill unarmed man is now being awarded WPPA merit award.” (The Lawrentian)
- Shooting of John Crawford III
- “The Insanity of Finding Fault vs. Fixing Cause,” by Michael Bell and William Scott (WilliamBScott.com)
- “Michael M. Bell and William B. Scott: Tragedies provide solutions to officer-involved shooting crisis” (The Cap Times)
- “Tamir Rice’s Basically Reasonable Murder,” by Scott Greenfield (Simple Justice)
- Graham vs. Connor (1989)
- “Scott Walker: I’m the only governor to sign law requiring investigations of deaths in police custody” (Politifact)
- Rosemary Lehmberg
- “Big Doses of Chemotherapy Drug Killed Patient, Hurt 2d” (The New York Times)
- “Milwaukee officer fired after on-duty death for the first time in decades” (WKOW)
This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Zen Cash, The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; LibertyStickers.com; TheBumperSticker.com; and ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.
Check out Scott’s Patreon page.
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