There are also cases of police shooting civilians - sometimes three or four policemen emptying 15-round magazines into an individual who is already on the ground - and the victim is later found to have been unarmed, but the police involved say "I thought I saw him reaching for a gun," and therefore are found guiltless.

In most of such cases, the deceased is a male of African descent.

If I were an inner-city black man, I would consider it necessary to be prepared to defend myself against out-of-control law enforcement as much as against civilian criminals. I don't think white, middle-class people in the suburbs or rural areas can understand what it's like.

P.