NOISEY: THE BLACK EPISODE

THE BLACK EPISODE

VIDEOS: Welcome to Noisey Atlanta (Trailer)

Welcome to Noisey Atlanta (Trailer)

From the makers of Noisey Chiraq, a new 10-part series documenting unprecedented access into the Atlanta rap scene. Hosted by Vice / HBO / Noisey’s Thomas Morton and directed by Andy Capper, the series stars artists like 2 Chainz, Gucci Mane, Migos, Rich Homie Quan, Young Thug, Jeezy, upcoming stars like the Grammy-nominated iLoveMakonnen, and also spends time with the new wave of super-producers like Mike Will Made-It (Miley Cyrus), Metro Boomin, and 808 Mafia.

The series goes behind the songs and into the trap houses, neighborhoods, problems, and solutions that have inspired the wheelhouse behind one of America's most vibrant and influential music scenes. Also featuring appearances by the Atlanta Police Department, gang members, the ATL Twins and Curtis Snow (Snow On Da Bluff), we attempt to illustrate the complex and vibrant rap scene and what that culture means to the city.

Part 1 drops January 13th. 

NEWS: Being a 'Rookie' Cop Is No Excuse for Deadly Policing

Being a 'Rookie' Cop Is No Excuse for Deadly Policing

Where do we find rookies? Sports teams have rookies, mistakes can be rookie, and of course, as we've been reminded in a banner week of officer involved shootings, police forces have rookies.

In the last week alone, two high-profile deadly shootings by police involved rookie officers. With less than 18 months on the job, NYPD officer Peter Liang shot dead Akai Gurley, an unarmed 28-year-old, in Brooklyn as the man entered a darkened stairwell in a housing project. Another rookie cop, this time in Cleveland, fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was carrying an "airsoft" pellet gun at a recreational center playground.

Media stories understandably point out that these cops were new to the force. It's arguably relevant information. Equally, news stories highlight when a police "veteran" is involved in instances of brutality or use of force. But, in sum, all we can surmise from the glut of police killing stories in recent weeks, months, and years is that cops old and new are responsible for deaths that quite simply should not have come to pass.

Anonymous crashes Cleveland City website in retaliation for police killing of 12-Year-Old. Read more here.

When we hear that a rookie cop has "accidentally" killed an unarmed man, as has been reported in the Gurley case, we might rightly move to blame insufficient police training. It is no excuse, however accurate, that Officer Liang was "nervous" as police sources have told journalists. Most nervous individuals are not endowed by the state with the position and weaponry to shoot dead innocent people on sight. "Rookie" should be no qualifier of culpability. The work done by applying the term — even if unintentionally — excuses the officer involved. 

The term rookie, as in newly-minted cop, has a cultural reference point that subtly undermines police accountability. The rookie is the bright eyed newbie in the hard-boiled crime thriller, a bumbling but lovable figure in cop comedies à la 21 Jump Street, the hardworking recent graduate not yet turned cynical or corrupt by years in uniform. Pop culture ushers audiences to the side of the rookie. It even sounds adorable.

Protest remembers teen killed by off-duty St. Louis cop ahead of Ferguson grand jury decision. Read more here.

Media storytelling alone could lead one to think that all police forces in America are comprised of rookies and veterans, and no one in between. Rarely does a cop appear in an article as just a cop. And that is a big problem within the discursive space through which police violence is addressed.

At base, it shouldn't matter whether officers are new or old to the force — they wear the uniform and carry the gun alike. Whether fresh out of the academy or not, all police are accorded the authority their uniform asserts in society. The responsibility should be uniform, too.

When New York Mayor Bill de Blasio deemed Gurley's death a "tragic mistake," he performed the work of injustice. It should not matter that officer Peter Liang did not mean to kill a man as he patrolled up and down darkened stairwells in a public housing project. The culpability rests with a system that sends armed, insufficiently trained officers to patrol the homes of New York's poor and black. 

"Rookie" is etymologically believed to be a corrupted version of the word "recruit." But rookie cops are long beyond the point of recruitment. The diminutive qualifier serves to suggest that they perhaps deserve less blame for misconduct than more experienced officers. The uniform is the same, though, and a gun is equally lethal, however long the cop has been holding it. 

Here's a first look at the Ferguson Police Department's internal code of conduct. Read more here.

Follow Natasha Lennard on Twitter: @natashalennard

VIDEOS: The Missing 43: Mexico's Disappeared Students (Full Length)

The Missing 43: Mexico's Disappeared Students (Full Length)

On September 26, students from the Teachers College of Ayotzinapa in Mexico en route to a protest in Iguala were intercepted by police forces. In the ensuing clash, six students were fatally shot and 43 were abducted. Investigations over the following weeks led to the startling allegations that the police had acted at the behest of the local mayor, and had turned over the abducted students to members of the Guerreros Unidos cartel. All 43 students are now feared dead.

The case has come to represent the negative feeling of the Mexican public toward the state of justice and the rule of law in Mexico. The events have now galvanized the survivors of the attack and the disappeared students' parents. Nationwide demonstrations have increased in intensity, and recently led to government buildings in the state of Guerrero to be set on fire.

VICE News travels to Guerrero, ground-zero for the protest movement that has erupted since the disappearance of the students. We meet with survivors of the Iguala police attack and parents of the missing students, accompany volunteer search parties, and watch as protests against the government and president reach boiling point.

FERGUSON: The Grand Jury Has Reached A Decision On Darren Wilson

The world awaits a landmark decision

According to a CNN breaking news report, the grand jury has decided whether or not they will be indicting Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, and we should get the announcement of the decision later today. Over the weekend, many businesses and stores boarded up their windows and took extra security measures in anticipation of the public’s reaction to the announcement, which will come from the St. Louis county prosecutor.

Wilson could be charged with any of the following felony crimes: first-degree murder, second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter or involuntary manslaughter, meanwhile, reports last week indicated that Wilson had already begun negotiationg his resignation from the Ferguson police force.

As for the grand jury, six white men, three white women, two black women and one black man will ultimately decide Wilson’s fate. Nine votes are necessary for an indictment.

We’ll have more on this story later today.