Across the USA, videos of police killings spark protests, drive conversation

Video is driving the case of the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, the subject of a Chicago police dash-cam video in which he is seen being shot 16 times by police officer Jason Van Dyke on Oct. 20, 2014. The release of the tape on Nov. 24 raised questions of why it was not made public for so long and fueled widespread protests in the Midwestern city.

Video also is playing a crucial role in the case of Jamar Clark, a 24-year-old black man fatally shot in the head by police on Nov. 15 in Minneapolis. Authorities say Clark was a suspect in an assault and he disrupted paramedics trying to treat the victim. Protesters have demanded release of video pertaining to the shooting, but officials have refused, saying it would taint the investigation.

Civilian video played a role in the July 17, 2014, death of Eric Garner, a Staten Island man tackled by police who suspected him of selling illegal cigarettes. In video shot by a bystander, Garner is heard saying "I can't breathe" multiple times while held in a chokehold. Surveillance video played a role in the Nov. 22, 2014, death outside of a Cleveland recreation center of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old fatally shot by police after authorities responded to reports of someone brandishing a gun. Rice's gun was fake.

Video has brought such cases into the public eye and made word of these situations spread with lightning speed.

“When you look at microvideo platforms — Instagram, Twitter and Vine — we can share video in less than a minute," New York-based social media strategist Mike Street said. "We can show what’s happening in real time, as opposed to a news station that’s deployed a truck.”

But even more important than speed is the fact that video is a democratic medium, said Cornell William Brooks, president and CEO of the NAACP.

“The likelihood of misconduct being caught on video is incredibly high because everyone is walking around with a camera in their back pocket,” Brooks said. “That has changed the dynamic in that the police officer does not necessarily know when they are going to be caught on camera.”

While the government does not have a reliable mechanism in place to count killings by police, a project by the Guardian news organization in the United Kingdom reports 1,041 people have died at the hands of police in the United States this year as of Dec. 1.

Law enforcement overall views video as useful, even in cases where police must prove they have been assaulted and abused, said Bill Johnson, executive director of the National Association of Police Organizations. But police are also disappointed in what they view as a betrayal by public officials, who seem to side with critics of law enforcement and, some police believe, ignore facts when video in sensitive cases is made public, he said. One example, would be that of Police Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Mo., whose claims about the Michael Brown killing ultimately were shown to be true in court, he said.

"There's a reluctance to be as aggressive as we used to be," Johnson said. "Even if we do everything right, if we do it by the law and the investigation shows that we did, we can still just be so dragged through the mud unfairly and inaccurately by community activists, by the media, that it's not worth it anymore."

A coalition of almost 40 civil rights organizations convened by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law has been meeting to address alleged police misconduct. The coalition endorses the use of body cameras and dashboard cameras by police, but also wants reforms such as uniform reporting requirements for alleged misconduct incidents and making it so officers cannot turn the equipment on and off at will.

“Video … doesn’t always serve as a 100 percent remedy but it gives you another leg to stand on," said Stacie Burgess, director of communications and external affairs with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

Below, USA TODAY has compiled some of the videos that captured the deaths of men dying following their interactions with police. The videos have driven conversation about police brutality across the country.

Note: All videos below contain graphic content.

June 2, 2013: Ricardo Diaz-Zeferino

Los Angeles police shot and killed Diaz-Zeferino more than two years ago. The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department declared that Diaz-Zeferino had been reaching for his waistband when he was shot. Video released this past July showed Diaz-Zeferino swinging his arms in defiance of police, but critics said the man did not appear to be particularly threatening in the video.

July 17, 2014: Eric Garner

Police said they suspected this Staten Island husband and father of selling illegal cigarettes. Video appeared to show officer Daniel Pantaleo holding him in an illegal chokehold while Garner repeatedly said, "I can't breathe." Garner, 43, died after the incident. When a grand jury did not indict Pantaleo in December 2014, protests broke out around the country.

Oct. 20, 2014: Laquan McDonald

Police dashcam video released on Nov. 24 shows Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke firing 16 times at 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, even after he lays still on the ground. McDonald was holding a knife but had his back turned to police when the shooting began.

Nov. 22, 2014: Tamir Rice

Twelve-year-old Tamir Rice was displaying a fake pistol outside of a Cleveland recreation center when police responded to reports of someone brandishing a gun. Calls to the police department indicated the gun was probably fake and that Rice was probably a juvenile. Surveillance video showed police shooting and killing Rice at close range.

April 2, 2015: Eric Harris

Oklahoma officials said it was a mistake when police shot and killed this unarmed black man. Reserve deputy Robert Charles "Bob" Bates, 73, meant to use his Taser but instead reached for his gun, officials said. Harris ran from officers, who suspected him of attempting to sell a gun.

April 4, 2015: Walter Scott

Walter Scott was shot and killed by North Charleston, S.C., Police Officer Michael Slager after a traffic stop for a non-functioning brake light. A bystander recorded Scott being shot in the back as he ran away. Slager was indicted for murder earlier this year. Below is a dashcam video that captures the scene before the shooting.

July 9, 2015: Samuel DuBose

White University of Cincinnati Police Officer Ray Tensing fatally shot DuBose, an unarmed black man, during a traffic stop for a missing license plate. Tensing alleged he'd been dragged after DuBose started up his car and Tensing's arm became caught. Prosecutors alleged that body-cam video showed this not to be the case.

Sept. 23, 2015: Jeremy McDole

Police in Wilmington, Del., shot and killed this black paraplegic man in a wheelchair and later claimed he was wielding a gun. Police fired several rounds, killing him instantly. Later, his mother would say that she saw the video posted online.