In Austin Police shootings highlight city's racial divide
Tron Nick
Early one morning last June, a white police officer fatally shot an unarmed blackman as the officer tried to arrest him for driving astolen car.JessieLee Owens, 20, was the second of three young black persons killed in Austin by white law enforcement officers over a 13-month period in 2002 and 2003. Many community leaders say the shootings, and the fact that the three officers kept their jobs,reflect a pattern of racism withinthe police force and throughout the city. [more]