A national protest has erupted after this video shows how Eric Garner was put in a chokehold by an NYPD officer which killed him.
Shouting "I can't breathe" six times, the man was overpowered by a group of NYPD officers who were not indicted, causing national outrage, which comes shortly after Darren Wilson was also given the all-clear in Ferguson.
Protestors have been demanding for social justice since the Darren Wilson verdict but the death or Eric Garner has accelerated this movement.
It is without a doubt that the power of this video report, which documents the events as they happened, will have a lasting impact in America. It is a tragic yet monumental account of how the NYPD have used force leading to the death of a suspect apprehended in daylight, surrounded by witnesses. The accountability of this evidence goes beyond any decision today, and it has made people more determined than ever before to seek change.
While the power of short films is clear for all to see, they are also giving citizens and filmmakers the ability to highlight social injustice and create debate around difficult subjects. As we head in 2015, and following President Obama's call for police body-cameras, video is going to be at the forefront of the civil rights movement. It is going to show firsthand the issue of policing on a 'national level', which is "a solvable problem."
Can filmmakers now do their part and join in to hold police officers accountable for their actions?