th korea the brightness and beauty of the one depicted here brings back darker memories. harry fawcett, al jazerra, south korea. news updates and blogs can be found on our website the address aljazerra.com. on "america tonight", this is the video sparking outrage cross the country, what follows, a fatal confrontation between l.a.p.d. officers and a homeless man, one of the first task for the body camera programme year. >> it's part of also missing white women syndrome what we know of in the united states, where there's moral panic when white woman victim hood and safety is threatened and compromised. there's a deeper reaction and response to that than we do women of colour.

>> so in short, native women are less than. >> less than. [ ♪♪ ] thanks for joining us, i'm joie chen. the tense regulations between law enforcement and communities of colours come to be marked by a hashtag shorthand black lives matter. it's echoed by another tag line, native lives matter, as native communities report a parallel crisis in their relation with police, one they fear leaves the young women at risk. the evidence coming from shocking statistics of missing women, underscored by the disprrps of an up and -- disappearance of an up and coming star. in seatal sara hoy vets. >> reporter: onobject 5th charles upham saw his daughter misty upham arrive.

the 22-year-old was at the height of her career, having starred along side meryl streep in "august: osage county." engine? >> yes, ma'am. >> reporter: her breakout role appeared in 2008 when she melissa. >> there's no border, it's free trade between nations. let's go. >> reporter: there was a dark side to misty, not many outside of her family knew about. >> she would self medicate, using alcohol, she'd have psychotic episodes where the behaviour would change, she'd go off, say things. misty upham's father said she was behaving strangely. she started being aggressive. about non-oishz. charles said the daughter was drinking heavily.

with rey mysterio upset, erratic and needing medication, charles called police for help. >> i'm leaving, i'm not going to let them take me. don't worry about me. it was app all-too familiar episode. the cycle would repeat itself. misty lashing out, calling to police, a brief hospital stay. only this time things were different. after police arrived on sunday, charles said he was ordered back inside. i said you guys need to help me find her. she needs to be in hospital. they just said well, we see her, if we see her we'll break-in her to hospital. probably would have peaked around the corner. >> he pressed the police to search for a missing daughter.

>> the area that he is found is is how far from here? >> about a block and a half up the street. >> reporter: they never canvassed the apartment complex on the reservation. charles reported her missing the next day. >> misty - it's tragic what happened to her, and how it happened. what made it worse is the fact we didn't get help. did auburn police do everything upham? >> within reason, yes. >> reporter: commander mike irwin said police didn't mount a full fleg search because her disappearance had not met the criteria for the washington state missing vidry or e mpa. that is triggered when a person is missing and believed to be in danger because of mental disability. the disappearance did not follow or meet the criteria.

she was not - didn't have a mental illness. she had depression issues. may have been drinking at the time. that is not mental illness. >> reporter: when you say mental illness, what do you mean from your position? >> we were called four times, redman one time. we are trying to determine does she meet the criteria, no, she does not. gech if she did. nothing could be done to help. there was no vehicle, nothing to flash on a billboard or a road sign. a bank account, but by this ravine. >> misty upham's death is a high-profile example. native american women are murdered or go missing at a higher rate than other ethnic

groups. at some reservations women are murdered at a rate 10 times higher. concerned that officials didn't consider the disappearance suspicious, charles turned to family and friends. >> we went into bush. >> reporter: it fell to her party. >> we went to the doorstep and thought about where we'd run if we were nipinging about a place to hide. that's all the cops needed to do. find out the urgency from a mum and dad. >> reporter: volunteers discovered missy's body at the bottom of an embankment nearby, 11 days after very went mying. >> this is a purse. he kept going done. he yelled at me "i see a body .

>> we had no help from the police. we would not a found her if we didn't do the best we could offer, and what he had to cover was better than years and years of professional help. >> it took rescuers five hours to retrieve misty's body from the bottom of the embankment. >> reporter: at the bottom. >> 150 feet down. >> according to the king country office misty died of blunt force injuries from the head and torso from the day she went missing. >> it was sad all around only because she died. that's terrible news and unfortunate. if there's a reprieve, it's the examiner's report, where they indicated when she disrespected is when -- disappeared is when he died. >> the fall down the cliff killed her. there's no indication of foul play.

police cannot say what happened. investigation. >> now, you know we have no indication to lead us to believe accident. >> charles insists his daughter did not take her own life. he tells "america tonight" that he was informed by a family friend said a witness said two men beat his daughter and threw her down the ravine. knowing what you know now, do you see this as an accident or murdered? >> i believe she was murdered. i'm going to find out who did it served. >> reporter: according to the u.s. department of justice 61% of native american women have been assaulted and most victims say the attacker was nonnative. >> people don't want to talk

about it, especially some of the native elders. it is too hard to say words, sexual assault, molestation. women... >> disturbed by the trend this woman started an advocacy group designed to track murders of indigenous women in canada. she teaches groups like this, to raise awareness about missing and murdered women. since launch in 2012, she tracked more than 1,000 deaths or disappearances of indigenous women. when intijness women -- indigenous women disappear, she's says, cases get little coverage and yoits can be rock yoits can be -- yoities can be erased.

>> with misty upham's position, an up coming actress, there was not an outcry. it's missing white women syndrome, that we know of it in the united states, there's moral panic when women's victim hood and safety is compromised. there's a deeper reaction and response to that than we do women in colour. than? >> yes. >> i'm fortunate enough to know i found my daughter. i had to cremate her ce mains, she was too decomposed to have an open casket. at least we have her assets some other families, their loved ones

are still missing. >> it needs to be addressed. that is what misty wanted to do, become a voice for the voiceless. [ ♪♪ ] >> reporter: at the cos cores... >> their work will stand and remind us how lucky we were to have them with us for a while. >> meryl streep gave tribute to lost. >> i need to have answers. i need to know if somebody out there did something to my girl. i need to know that. >> reporter: charles wants the fbi to investigate the death,

and is raising funds for a private investigation. what did the world lose when we lost misty? >> we may never know. she didn't get to tap her potential. she had to much more to give "america tonight"s sara hoy joins us. seems like a discrepancy. the police feel this is an accident. the family believes it's murder. on? >> that's right, investigation is continuing. we were told today by aub you were police -- auburn police that it should be wrapped up in the next week or so. >> let's talk about the broader concern about native women, i have heard this on other reservations, the concern about the high rate of missing and native women. is there an explanation why this is so true.

>> one of the things we heard from an expert is listen, native lives, native american women don't matter the same sass they do other -- as they do other ethnic groups. in the story it was's there's a white women missing syndrome, where we care more been certain groups than others. it's an historical problem, going back to when the indians were pushed off. so on, so forth, that here in the country we have an historical problem and everyone is not treated the same. >> and the tension does not come to isolated communities which is often the case. let's talk about the possibility of special focus, particularly after misty's death, is there special focus at a federal or women? >> what we hear is numbers from the d.o.j., different groups trying to study this, and the problem in canada, addressing

the issue, there's not been anything systematic or institutionally done. there's not a task force saying change this. saying that we need to address the issue, there's a lot of chatter in specific circles, or you have people like the women in the piece. but it is not something organised and dealt with. >> "america tonight"s sara hoy. thank you. next here - the feds weigh in. the ferguson force faces a sharp rebuke after a justice department investigation. later in "america tonight" - keeping police action in sharp focus. "america tonight"s michael oku on the gear that might make a difference and hot on "america tonight"s website now - a little girl lost. one year after a homeless child in the nation's capital vanished, no clue what happened to her or why.

an indepth report at aljazeera.com/americatonight.

in our fast-forward segment the case that ignited ferguson, missouri. months after the death of michael brown, new signing the racial by as in a police department is confirmed by outside investigators. at the height of the progress a former ferguson police officer defended his department to lori jane gliha "america tonight." >> you are hit with everything. anything that is wrong in the metropolitan area, ferguson is hit with it. >> do you think the ferguson corrupt? >> no, in any profession people are racist, buts that's in the heart. i never saw that. a lot of anger directed, i think

general. >> what are the misconceptions that people have about the police department. >> that they are not doing anything with the community, and when i worked there, they worked with the different community organizations, they have a programme. >> bowman spent years as a research speaker. he knew kids by name, and watched them grow up. >> i tried to reach the people i was dealing with, whether it be students or the parents in the community, and you just, you know, treat the kids give them respect in their programme. we'd play kick ball, we'd have races and, you know, i did double dutch and foursquare with the kids. you try to build a relationship. >> bowman said he lived in the area, spending time in the

community, meeting people in the neighbourhoods. >> it's something activists say doesn't happen enough with mostly white officers living outside the city, policing a community which is mostly black. >> fast-forward to the latest from ferguson, where the justice department delivers a first look at the findings of its investigation to the leaders. in it evidence of the routine discrimination against black residents. force, profiling and racist jokes about president obama in official emails, more details spelentth on wednesday. >> next - when force meets focus. >> a new claim of excessive force and how a closer look from the officer adds point of view may change our perspective. wednesday on "america tonight", we return to the indepth coverage of ferguson, and what will be different now.

after ferguson, critics and communities put focus on video as a way to monitor rogue sferks some police officers see a benefit. they can provide a full picture of what really happens when

officers face off with a suspect. it's put to the test in los angeles with the shooting death of a homeless man, raising new charges of brutal and excessive force. this time technology could make a difference. angeles. >> reporter: this is the video that sparked outrage across the country. what follows, a fatal confrontation between l.a. police officers and a homeless man living in a tends on skid row. activists are hit the streets wielding once again the slogan that black lives matter. and comparing the incident to other high-profile officer-involved killings in ferguson, staten island and cleveland. officers are claiming self-defence, arguing that the suspect was reaching for a firearm. between the surveillance and

cell phone footage, it's difficult to determine what happened, but many are hoping that body cameras worn by at least two of the officers will tell the story. it's one of the first tests the l.a.p.d.'s body camera programme launched at the end of last year, east of l.a. in realtor. officers used body cameras for years, and saw surprising results. scenes like this are not uncommon. what you are about to see happens every day across the country, an officer in tense pursuit of a vehicle. two pictures, showing signs that they intend to surrender. the situation could escalate. if it does, it will be captured by the officers body camera. this time there's no trouble. days later the body cam makes a

difference. realtor california officer confronts a wanderer accused of harassing pedestrians, the extra eyes record the scuffle. realtor p.d. will be able to say punch. >> i think it protects me as opposed to the public. >> reporter: we are on patrol with corporal gary cunningham along the roads and allies of realtor. police say they were the first force in the nation to deploy the cameras with nine form officers. a 25-year veteran, cunningham it old school. >> can you say that when they approached you with the idea, that you were as embracing as

you seem to be now. they use the camera, to punish us more than to help us. you wear it and say wait a minute. can you go to domestic. you have the girl crying, having a big black eye saying he did this, did that. you go to court changing the story. i didn't say that. let's play the tape. >> does it keep you in line. >> i had a trainee with me, we went to a call. the guy did something, ran in the house, slammed the door in my face. kicked the door open. back in the day you get them, throw them down. >> reporter: you rough them up a little you are saying. >> having the camera on me, when i grabbed him and i remembered "the camera, the camera." before implementing the programme the ri alto p.d.

sumpinged a study in 2012, deploying wearable cameras to half the pal roll officers. the results were remarkable. >> the department saw an 88 prsz decline in the -- 88% decline in the number of complaints. officers use of force dropped by 60%. >> after we got the data and saw the numbers, and went wow. there's something to this. >> tony is chief of the ri alto p.d. child. >> we stepped out on a programme we thought was dynamic, that we thought would make a difference. that. >> are you concerned about the public's right for privacy? >> i am. we do the best we can to train on circumstances that might take place. are we perfect at it right now, no, we are not. >> routine traffic stop, middle

of the game, fair game. >> yes. home. >> yes. >> reporter: he believes the law video. >> it's not something you want on youtube, if it's evidence to a case, you are not entitled to party. >> the high tech docking takes is a hub before and after every shift. the ri alto police use a camera communicated, comprised of a battery pack, regard and stop, and the camera itself, outfitted with a small lends, microphone and a speaker. >> at the end of the shift they bring it over and put it in. >> you'll hear the beep, it's recording. >> if the officer is late hitting the switch, the camera

records what is taking place 30 seconds before. corporal kuning hand believes through. moments later disbatch calls for backup. >> a fellow officer yielded the traffic stop, two suspects. moment. >> slow down. >> reporter: body cameras are all the range in law enforcement. so much so the number of cities considering whether to deploy them grows daily. >> there's climate out there when it comes to the trust between law enforcement. and at-risk communities across the nation. how specific is the use of the

body cameras has affected the relationship between law enforcement in the cameras. >> they are not a silver bullet. they are not going to solve the issue, there's more to it. it's a good tool to hold back the trust that the organization lost. >> the federal government is considering whether to fund thousands more. in the meantime the technology will be tested on the streets by police and skeptical citizens who they have sworn to protect and serve that's "america tonight", tell us what you think at aljazeera.com/americatonight. talk to us on facebook and twitter. come back, we'll have more of "america tonight"

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