Finally! I have followed this story for a while over here in Norway and simply been dumbfound that it could be THIS hard to do the right thing in this case. She should have been celebrated and thanked instead of having been made to fight hard for over a decade.

While a happy moment, this is just top of the iceberg. How many police officers did what she did, and never saw justice and just gave up?

Police are not going to look at this and go: Oh I am encouraged to do the right thing. No, they are going to see it as a warning. That if you stick your head out there is a heavy price to pay, and you might not see justice until you are too old to enjoy it.

Seriously there should be consequences for everyone who has sabotaged the quest for justice through all these years. This is such an important thing.

Now, I cannot begin to imagine what the situation is for African-Americans, but I have tried to stay educated on the topic. And I cannot see how police can work effectively with the African-American community if cops cannot be trusted. Trust is one of the most valuable currencies. You cannot solve crime effectively without trust. You cannot reduce crime in black neighbourhoods if cops don't have trust.

For too long they have pinned the blame on African-Americans for the lack of trust, when it is white American police officers who have to show that they can be trusted. Trust has to be earned. If you act like a brutal occupying force, you cannot be expected to be trusted.

Sorry for the rant... I have just had so many discussion with conservative Americans, not necessarily white, mind you, who have simply refused to acknowledge the existence of systemic racism within the police. Now I am not personally on the ground to experience it, but I can read. It seems like you would need an enormous conspiracy to create all these stories, if there was nothing going on.