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US ruled by a culture of white supremacy: Lawyer

Friday, 08 July 2016 9:18 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 08 July 2016 9:18 AM ]

Demonstrators are arrested after they march through the city and call for justice for Alton Sterling and Philandro Castile in the middle of Times Square in New York on July 7, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

A human rights attorney says US investigations into police killing of two African-Americans in Louisiana and Minnesota recently will not lead to the administration of justice.

A video that shows the aftermath of police shooting can be investigated as a federal crime, but the investigation "will not ensure there is going to be justice for the victim," human rights attorney from New York Roger Wareham told Press TV.

Two graphic videos shot in the US states of Louisiana and Minnesota shocked the American nation this week which showed the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile in the hands of US police officers.

“In an almost all those cases the officer who killed an unarmed black civilian does not even get indicted, much less prosecuted, much less convicted or even go to jail,” Wareham said.

He said African Americans are the constant victim of a system in which the law enforcement or white vigilantes can kill black people with impunity and without any sort of retribution and accountability.

“So, there is a culture of white supremacy, there is an attitude that says you can do anything to a black or brown person, because you will not be punished for it,” he added.

Lawrence Korb, a former assistant secretary of the US Department of Defense, said the police officer who killed Philando Castile should be held accountable

It is "because the act is tragic and a video record proves that the victim was unarmed, but he was shot four times," Korb said.

The use of excessive force by US law enforcement forces has become the focus of national debate, particularly over high-profile killings of African Americans by mainly white officers during the last several years.

Police in the United States killed over 1,150 people in 2015, with the largest police departments disproportionately killing at least 321 African Americans.

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