Trials for killings of blacks by police unfold in 2 cities
CINCINNATI — With the nation focused on the closing days of the long, heated race for the presidency, two trials related to the country’s continued racial divisions have just begun.
Juries in Cincinnati and Charleston, South Carolina, will decide the fates of white former police officers charged with murder in the shootings of black men.
The cases are among a series of deaths of blacks in police encounters over the past two years that have raised attention to how police deal with black people. There have been widespread protests, some violent, in cities such as Baltimore; Charlotte, North Carolina; Chicago; and Ferguson, Missouri.
A summary of key aspects of the two cases that will be decided in the days after Tuesday’s election: