VOA慢速英语2014 美国警官审查武力使用规则

US Police Officials Examine Use of Force Rules 美国警官审查武力使用规则

From VOA Learning English, this is In The News.

美国之音慢速学英语节目，这里是时事新闻。

The Obama administration has established a federal task force to examine policing policies. The group will investigate the use of force in detaining suspects. the administration's move follows demonstrations 1 in cities across the United States.

奥巴马政府成立了联邦任务小组，对警务政策进行审查。该小组将调查拘捕嫌疑人时的武力使用情况。政府的这一举动是在美国各地城市举行示威之后。

Demonstrators have been protesting two recent grand jury rulings. In Missouri, a grand jury decided 2 last week not to charge a white police officer in the shooting death of an unarmed African-American teenager. This week, jurors in New York decided not to indict 3 another white officer in the death of an unarmed African-American man.

示威者们抗议最近两个大陪审团作出的裁决。上周，密苏里州一个大陪审团决定不起诉开枪打死了手无寸铁的非裔美国青少年一名白人警察。本周，纽约的陪审员决定不起诉造成一位手无寸铁的非裔美国男子死亡的另一名白人警察。

How a grand jury works is a mystery to most Americans. A grand jury is a group of private citizens. Their job is to decide whether to approve criminal charges.

对大多数美国人来说，大陪审团的运作程序是一个谜。大陪审团是由公民个人组成的团体。他们的职责是决定是否批准刑事控罪。

Unlike trial juries, grand juries only hear evidence presented by a government lawyer. Charges are brought if the jury decides there is "probable cause" that the crime took place, and that a person or persons may have been responsible.

和审判陪审团不同，大陪审团只听取政府律师提出的证据。如果陪审团裁决罪案的发生有“合理的依据”，一人或多人可能负有责任，就会提起控告。

On Wednesday, protesters gathered in the New York City neighborhood where Eric Garner 4 died of a heart attack. He collapsed 5 after police arrested him on suspicion of selling cigarettes illegally.

周三，示威者聚集在埃里克·加纳(Eric Garner)心脏病发身亡的纽约市一处街区。警察怀疑他非法销售香烟而对他实施抓捕时嫌疑人倒地身亡。

A widely seen video of the arrest shows police officer Daniel Pantaleo putting Eric Garner in a chokehold, an action banned by the police department. New York's medical examiner has ruled the death a homicide; in other words, the killing 6 of one person by another.

一段广为流传的逮捕视频显示，警察丹尼尔·潘塔莱奥(Daniel Pantaleo)勒住了加纳的脖子，而警方已经禁止了这种动作。纽约法医裁定这次死亡是一起谋杀案。换言之就是一人被另一人杀害。

"You've got to be kidding me. They didn't indict him? Why, where's the justice at?

“你开玩笑吧？他们没有起诉他？为什么不起诉？正义何在？”

The U.S. Justice Department says it will investigage whether Eric Garner's civil rights were violated when the police officer put him in a chokehold. In Washington, Attorney General Eric Holder 7 spoke 8 to reporters.

美国司法部表示，他们会调查当警察勒住埃里克·加纳(Eric Garner)的脖子时，他的公民权利是否受到了侵犯。美国司法部长埃里克·霍尔德(Eric Holder)在华盛顿向记者发表了讲话。

"Mr. Garner's death is one of several recent incidents across our great country that have tested the sense of trust that must exist between law enforcement and the communities they are charged to serve and to protect."

“执法部门和他们为之服务和提供保护的社区之间必须存在信任感。加纳之死正是美国这一泱泱大国最近发生的考验这一信任感的几起事件之一。”

There have been several cases of deadly incidents involving police and African-Americans this year. The killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown last August fueled racial tensions. Police officer Darren Wilson said he feared for his life after Brown attempted to take his gun.

今年已经发生了数起涉及警察和非裔美国人的死亡案例。今年8月，迈克尔·布朗(Michael Brown)之死使得种族紧张关系火上浇油。警察达伦·威尔逊(Darren Wilson)表示，在布朗试图夺他的枪之后，他感到自己的生命受到威胁。

Last month, an Ohio police officer shot and killed a 12-year-old African-American boy. The shooting took place less than two seconds after the police car pulled up to the boy. He was carrying an unloaded pellet gun -- a device also known as an air gun. To date, no charges have been brought against the officer.

上月，俄亥俄州一位警察开枪打死了一名12岁的非裔男孩。警车在这个男孩面前停下不到两秒就发生了这一枪击事件。这个男孩携带了一把没装子弹的粒丸枪，也被称为气枪。截至目前这位警察都未被提起任何控告。

On Monday, President Barack Obama met with civil rights leaders, law enforcement officials and others. Mr. Obama said he will push for reforms in city police departments because of the high rates of police shootings involving African-Americans.

周一，奥巴马总统会见了民权领袖和执法官员等人。奥巴马表示，由于警察枪击非裔美国人的案件频发，他将推进城市警察部门改革。

“The frustrations 9 that we’ve seen are not just about a particular incident. They have deep roots in many communities of color, who have a sense that our laws are not always being enforced uniformly or fairly.”  

“我们所看到的失望情绪并不仅仅是针对一起特定事件。这种失望已经深深植根于许多有色人种社区，他们认为我们的执法过程并不总是公平和公正的。”

Civil rights leaders like Al Sharpton have criticized police for having an aggressive way of thinking towards young African-Americans and other minorities.

Al Sharpton等民权领袖批评警方对非洲裔青年和其它少数族裔持激进的态度。

“What I’m afraid of is that there will not be indictments 10 of police officers for killing unarmed people. That is what I am afraid of. I think we are so busy promoting the reaction to injustice 11 that we are not reacting to injustice.” 

“我担心的是，警察杀害手无寸铁的人不会被起诉。我觉得我们是在促进各方对非正义的反应，而不是对非正义作出反应。”

The mayor of New York announced on Thursday that police officers will attend three days of training in an effort to reduce unnecessary use of force. He said the move shows all New Yorkers that they will be treated equally

周四，纽约市长宣布，警务人员将参加为期三天的培训，以减少不必要的武力使用。他说，此举表明，他们将对所有纽约人一视同仁。

Words in This Story

federal - adj. of or having to do with a national or central government

jury - n. a group of people chosen to decide what is true in a trial

criminal – adj. involving illegal activity; n. a person who is responsible for a crime

indict - v. to decide to charge someone with a crime