美国国家公共电台 NPR--Wave of criticism follows San Francisco DA's decision in Walgreens shooting

Wave of criticism follows San Francisco DA's decision in Walgreens shooting

Transcript¹

Backlash after San Francisco's DA decided² not to file charges against a Walgreens security guard, who shot and killed a suspected shoplifter. (Story aired on All Things Considered on May 17, 2023.)

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

San Francisco's DA is facing fierce backlash after declining to file charges against a Walgreens security guard who fatally shot a suspected shoplifter. Here’s KQED's Marisa Lagos.

MARISA LAGOS, BYLINE³: The April 27 killing⁴ of Banko Brown by security guard Michael Anthony immediately sparked outrage⁵ in San Francisco, a city where brazen⁶ shoplifting has become a political flashpoint amid a fentanyl crisis and a widening chasm⁷ between the wealthy and impoverished⁸. Video released Monday by prosecutors⁹ shows Brown, a Black transgender man who was homeless, being confronted by Anthony as Brown tries to leave the store with stolen goods. Security video footage shows a nearly minute-long struggle during which Anthony, who's also Black, has Brown in a headlock and lays on top of him. Anthony eventually lets him go. But as Brown is leaving, he turns around on the threshold of the doorway¹⁰ and gestures toward Anthony. At that point, Anthony shoots Brown once. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JOHN BURRIS: Outrageous¹¹, unconscionable act of violence on the part of the security officer. The facts from the video do not support the use of deadly force.

LAGOS: That's attorney John Burris, a civil rights lawyer representing Brown's family. He and other critics say Banko was not a threat and that the video shows Anthony, the security guard, as the aggressor. District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, though, says the video, which has no audio, isn't the only relevant evidence.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BROOKE JENKINS: And that is why we must listen to the security guard's statement, the witness statements and everything else in order to look at the full picture of the incident.

LAGOS: Jenkins says she didn't believe prosecutors could prove a case against the security guard in court. Anthony told investigators¹² that during the altercation¹³, Brown said he had a knife and threatened to stab Anthony, though no weapon was found. And witnesses reported Brown spitting at Anthony and lunging back toward him as the shot was fired. Here's DA Jenkins.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JENKINS: And at this time, there is nothing to rebut¹⁴ his statements regarding the fact that he acted in self-defense.

LAGOS: Jenkins has been under pressure to release the video and other evidence in the case for weeks ever since announcing on May 1 that her office wouldn't charge Anthony. Following outcry, she reversed course and said charges were still under consideration. On Monday, she released a slew¹⁵ of evidence, including the security video, as she declined to file charges again. County Supervisor¹⁶ Aaron Peskin is asking state and federal officials to investigate Brown's shooting.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

AARON PESKIN: This is not who we are. Stealing a bag of candy does not warrant what is, in essence, the death penalty. I don't think that the district attorney's behavior in this case is making San Francisco safer.

LAGOS: Jenkins was already a divisive figure in San Francisco. She was appointed DA by San Francisco's mayor after helping¹⁷ lead a heated recall campaign to oust¹⁸ her progressive predecessor¹⁹. That campaign helped shaped a national narrative²⁰ of San Francisco as a city where crime and open-air drug use are out of control. But as San Francisco struggles to figure out how to rein²¹ in shoplifting, the repercussions²² of Brown's death could reach far beyond this case. Members of the transgender community here continue to express anger. Honey Mahogany, chair of the local Democratic Party, notes trans people are far more likely to be impoverished and homeless.

HONEY MAHOGANY: The reality is that this could have been any number of people. Every one of us has had a low point. And to think that, you know, in that moment of vulnerability and in that moment of trying to survive, that you could be shot dead.

LAGOS: For now, protests continue. And Burris, the Brown family attorney, plans to file suit against the security firm that employed Anthony and Walgreens.

For NPR News, I'm Marisa Lagos in San Francisco.

(SOUNDBITE OF OLMA'S "MELROSE")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

5 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

6 brazen   

adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的

参考例句：

• The brazen woman laughed loudly at the judge who sentenced her.那无耻的女子冲着给她判刑的法官高声大笑。
• Some people prefer to brazen a thing out rather than admit defeat.有的人不愿承认失败，而是宁肯厚着脸皮干下去。

7 chasm   

n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突

参考例句：

• There's a chasm between rich and poor in that society.那社会中存在着贫富差距。
• A huge chasm gaped before them.他们面前有个巨大的裂痕。

8 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

10 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

11 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

12 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 altercation   

n.争吵，争论

参考例句：

• Throughout the entire altercation,not one sensible word was uttered.争了半天，没有一句话是切合实际的。
• The boys had an altercation over the umpire's decision.男孩子们对裁判的判决颇有争议。

14 rebut   

v.辩驳，驳回

参考例句：

• He attempted to rebut the assertions made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳控方证人所作的断言。
• This open letter is to rebut the argument of abstractionism.这封公开信是反驳抽象派论点的。

15 slew   

v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多

参考例句：

• He slewed the car against the side of the building.他的车滑到了大楼的一侧，抵住了。
• They dealt with a slew of other issues.他们处理了大量的其他问题。

16 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

17 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

18 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

19 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

20 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

21 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

22 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》