VOA标准英语2015--德州发生抗议警方对黑人青少年滥用武力活动

Protests in Texas After Police Confront Black Teens 德州发生抗议警方对黑人青少年滥用武力活动

Police in the southern U.S. state of Texas are investigating the actions of an officer who threw an unarmed teenage girl to the ground after being called to break up a pool party. The officer resigned from the force on Tuesday. But with increased national scrutiny¹ on how race and force are handled by law enforcement, activists² are again crying foul³ over the latest case of what they see as excessive use of force.

What started as a pool party in this town north of Dallas ended with handcuffs, and drawn⁴ weapons.

Community residents tried to shut down the party Friday, claiming the teens were not allowed at the pool. Then, the police arrived.

One teen recorded video as Officer Eric Casebolt of the McKinney Police Department tackled 15-year-old Dejerria Becton.

"He told me to keep walking and I kept walking and I guess he thought we were saying rude stuff to him. He grabbed me, twisted my arm on my back and shoved me in the grass and started pulling the back of my braids. I was telling him to get off me because my back was hurting bad," said Becton.

As with other allegations of excessive use of force caught on camera, different witnesses tell different stories. One woman who saw the incident defended the police.

"He grabbed her arm, she started resisting, they were just doing the right thing when these kids were fleeing and using profanity and threatening security guards," she said.

Activists are calling for transparency and swift action in the investigation⁵. Among them, the Texas branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, whose Satinder Singh spoke⁶ via Skype:

"Here, allegedly, what the police have said so far is the kids were trespassing," said Singh. "Which is a crime, yes.  But the question becomes - and this is part of what smart policing, community policing is - is this the best response at this time?  Am I going to escalate⁷ the situation to the point where someone dies?  Or I'm throwing a girl in a bikini on the ground and putting my weight on her?  Where I felt the need to draw my gun on kids in swim trunks?"

Several teenagers were detained at the scene but only one man was charged - with interfering⁸ with police.

1 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

8 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。