's international hours. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm antonio mora. i'll see you again in an hour. >> on "america tonight": >> king's bay is one of the only places in the world where you can swim with and even touch groups of endangered florida man manatees. >> ma'am, you're not supposed to be in there. >> set off a passionate debate. >> where do you draw the line? >> i think people should not touch the animals or attempt to. >> in his spare time when he's

not running his septic business doug has become a one man police watchdog. he's also become a critic of the increasing military posture of police. >> what did you witness here? >> i witnessed my son-in-law killed buy swat team that i founded. . >> geexg, thanks for joining us i'm joie chen. after ferguson we have become increasingly aware of the power of increasing numbers of programs par part of the arsenal of even small forces. and officers kitted up, with military fire power as if to do battle. the consequences the gear changes those that were meant to protect and serve we begin our program with what we warn you are disturbing images and the story of a former top cop who told "america tonight's" michael okwu, he has now seen it from

both sides. >> this wasn't exactly how 70-year-old doug lawrence planned to spend him golden years, in and out of sewage pits. but as dirty as it is on clogged drains. he will tell you life even on the streets of davis county, utah can get a lot messier. >> we are at a place that changed your life, i think it's fair to say. >> yes, most definitely. >> a word what did you witness here? >> i witnessed my son-in-law killed by a swat team that i founded. >> in 1974, lawrence was elected sheriff davis county. a year later he launched the department amtion first swat team a unit he his preference always was to resolve conflict

without force. his reputation for integrity became local lore, he actually once wrote himself a market ticket. >> do you understand that to many people that is the sort of thing that would only happen in fictitious mayberry. >> but my father was born and raised in mayberry, and my mother stiff lives there. eanldandy griffith was the sheriff. >> a tense confrontation with an armed man in a truck has been unfolding all day long in farmington. >> dub's son-in-law was covered

wall to wall on local media. >> he was basically parked light here. >> yes. >> you were one of the people on the scene here. >> my response time was seven minutes after the call came. first officers arrived two officers arrived within four or five minutes. >> you are an experienced law enforcement guy you founded the swat team. did you offer your help? >> oh yeah. >> what happened? >> they had me stay back. >> they could trust the officers on the scene but that confidence evaporated when the two officers grew to dozens. >> how many officers were here altogether? >> over 100. >> 100 officers? >> 46 swat officers. >> for one guy? >> he was in his truck had a gun to his head. >> sharp shooters took positions on roofs then the military whrear came in. >> they came in with an armored

vehicle. they moved it just past that bush. >> you saw that happen? >> i saw them come in. >> far from defusing the situation, the swat team's actions were actually intensifying it. counter to everything lawrence had preached decades earlier. >> i was cursing. what are you doing? i mean, what the hell are you doing? >> this captures the standoff escalating. by 10:00 brian wood was dead. killed by police gun fire. >> yesterday you said you wanted this to end peacefully but then we see video of almost a war scene. some people have said that might have prodded him to -- >> that was never our intent. our whole intent was things that may be the appearance but that was not the intent, every action we took at that point was less lethal. i want to guys that.

>> lawrence said, the final shot was played by an officer on the ground. >> i felt betrayed by my profession i admired police officers, i tried to be a good officer. >> wrongful death lawsuits filed by brian's family have been dismissed. dub said his police were too quick to shoot. >> they have to take every precaution in the world. to keep anybody in the area, officers civilians. >> weren't they doing that? >> no. they had him completely contained. he was surrounded completely. there were 50 officers within 50 feet of him. >> reporter: with 50 officers surrounding brian dub says they should have been able to subdue him without shooting him.

convinced brian's shooting was unjustified, dub has been on a mission to prove that. command central is this hangar which he stores many documents and video. including boxes upon boxes of evidence. >> this is all evidence that the police missed. >> i was just blown away by i guess a lot of the violence i saw. analyzed and picked apart. this is a story about life and death. there's a lot at stake here in the story and i was really drawn to that. >> scott and brad are film make rs who heard about dub's story and mate him the center piece of their documentary peace officer about the militarization of the police. >> makes sense the way it went down. >> no doubt you guys found dub

to be an interesting character. >> yes yes. this is a guy who makes a living literally waist-deep in it, so to speak. >> yeah. >> and spends much of his free time you know knee-deep in these very messy investigations. do you agree with that? >> yes, he's doing the dirty work in our society and in the film he does the dirty work. >> ricocheted off the top of the windshield, windshield is broken. >> in his spare time whether he's not running his septic business dub has become a one man police watchdog. investigating, uncovering evidence away of what he thinks is coverup enforcement. he has been a critic of the increasingly military posture of police including the swat team he created. many police departments are beginning to look like they are

better suited for fallujah than farmington. >> congress did not vote on whether or not to militarize police. if they don't remember sort of being consulted as citizens as to how these special forces would be used. in increasinglyingly miltingly militaristic way. public oversight of how swat teams are used. >> it is critical. they have people trained people equipped to deal with whatever kind of serious problem we've gotten. >> but they've gone too far? >> we've gone too far. >> get your hands up, get them out. >> since 2010 there have been 45 fatal shootings by police in

utah. all bu but one were found justified including the salt lake tribune. dub is investigating a handful of those. one of them is scheduled for civil trial in july. >> why does this matter so much to you? there may be some people who mites be looking from outside thick there's that old guy obsessed with those old cases. >> well, people across the country are experiencing this same thing that i've experienced and my family's experienced and they have no voice. >> it's why after a day's work why this former law man continues to hold the law accountable in what's now become his life's work. >> "america tonight's" michael okwu with us again. michael, this is the guy dub lawrence is the guy that seems like he's from central casting why would he leave law

enforcement if he cared so much about it? >> as he tells it partly for partisan reasons and also partly because of the impression that he made on people. you have to remember that back then he was a democrat and he was embedded in a deeply republican county in a deeply republican state so much so that his first opponent actually died of a heart attack two weeks before the election and dub still managed to lose by some 6,000 votes but the fact is it's also for other reasons. he says it's oddly enough because he practiced what he preached. he believed no man was above the law and he was not above putting powerful local officials behind bars and in so doing mad made not a few enemies. >> other people in law enforcement do they regard him as some sort of bad guy a trait to theirtraitor to their cause?

>> no question, joie he has been roundly accused cold shoulder moments shall i call it in public. but he also tells you that he received some very quiet quiet confidence and approval in all quarters, and he will always stress the fact that he is not anti-police. in fact he is a former marine who's very pro-law enforcement but he just believes he has been betrayed by the ploifertion with whom he used to serve -- by the police officers with whom he used to serve. >> "america tonight's" michael okwu. >> the dangers of the dark web one of the centers at the center heart of our investigation and later too close critics say florida's endangered manatee is being.

>> at aljazeera.com/americatonight.

>> fast forward segment, immediate impact. what can shut the dark web down? "america tonight's" lori jane gliha bank fraud other criminal activity, in her report on tuesday she exposed one of the latest of this dark web sites it is called evolution.

>> this is scary, there are 143 actual bank accounts on here? >> there are listings for bank accounts, there are probably thousands of these for sale. let's look at this. so you see user name password, mailing address cash accounts, checking accounts, savings accounts that's somebody's whole banking profile. >> how has the user friendliness of some of these websites impacted these people to engage in illegal and sometimes dangerous behavior? >> it becomes easy to do it. evolution is clean modern, very easy to use. >> we wanted to see just how easy it was to purchase bank information on evolution. we created a log in and searched. one called dimitri had a 100% approval rating. i sent a message to dimitri this is dimitri's log in page. discovery card and e-mail, bank

of america log ins, american express log ins. i asked him how much he would charge for 100 bank of america log ins he responded in minutes and said he didn't have 100 at once but i would be happy to load up his phishing and it would not be cheap. >> what is that next evolution? >> fast forward now to a dark disappearance. that website evolution it vanished just hours after lori jane's story appeared. but there's no evidence that the someone other than the fbi took it down. made off with $12 million that was being head in escrow for illicit purchases. you can't report that to the police.

next are they being loved to death? >> this morning, crazy too many people, too many boats. >> florida's unglamorous residents and the fear that manatees are being man handled. >> what assurances can you give that these won't create irreversible environmental damage? >> "america tonight""america tonight"'s adam may is back. thursday on "america tonight."

broadcast journalism does. >> the new home for original documentaries. al jazeera america presents "motherhood on ice". sunday, 10:00 eastern. only on al jazeera america

>> here's a reminder that things don't always go the way you expect. but does that remember we can afford to put it as risk.

much has beened about the endangered florida manatee. the beloved although ungainly sea cow has been staging a come back but what threatened him in the first place. sheila macvicar reports environmentalists fear that the manatee is already being loved to ded. death. >> very small area, two acres. some manatee activity behind the boats on the surface. very likely a mating herd. >> a mating herd. just past done on king's bay on the west coast of florida. ivan vicente knows every inch of this body of water. >> nine miles away where they can easily feed and come back. >> right now the bay is serene, mostly empty of boats and people

but filled with an exceedingly rare and endangered part of wildlife. >> just because of curiosity the way their brain is wired. >> they make a conscious choice? they know? >> they make a conscious choice to interact with people. they know. >> by noon produces an aquatic gridlock rivalling new new york's times square. 250,000 a year flock to this small bay. it's about half a square mile. >> most of the people that live here in king's bay they're not liking the fact that there's no limits, no thresholds, no carrying capacity how many visitors at one time can come to the bay. but most people in town are happy because it's the economy of this town depends -- >> money money money. >> it depends on manatee

tourism. >> reporter: king's bay is one of the only places in the world where you can swim with and touch florida's endangered manatee. heated to a pleasant 72 degrees. manatees need that warmth to survive winter cold. it's critical manatee habitat. skilled diver tour boat operator and manatee guide. >> right now in this county we have between four to 600 manatees come winter here in a good winter. >> reporter: that is a lot. >> that is a lot. >> reporter: crystal river is one of the ten places to see before you die manatee ecotourism is a life blood population 3,000. but ecotourism and the hundreds of thousands of tourists it brings has set off a passionate

debate between ecotourists and residents. >> let me fall back on john audubon, you only protect what you love, you only love what you know. by getting to know the animals we are fostering a stewardship. when you come face to face, it becomes somewhat real to us. manatees will behave much more like cats and not so much like dogs. >> call them gentle giants. they are so engaging and they're so curious and they move in slow motion when they're looking at you and there's a connection, when you look in those eyes. >> every day he takes visitors underwater and often swimmers will pet or touch the manatees which is legal here but an environmental group called peer,

public employees for environmental responsibility, filed a lawsuit if they don't ban the touching tourists. ipts anit's an experience that turns tourists to environmental purists. >> it gives me clils being able to touch something -- chills being able to touch something that is so elusive. >> they're so big and they're right there and you know you can reach out and touch them and they're not going to do anything. >> manatees do have roped off sanctuaries in kings bay that they can escape to when the overcrowding becomes too much. sometimes tourists go there anyway. >> ma'am you aren't supposed to be in there. see it says closed area. >> we're going to go up here this way?

>> tracy colson is an environmentalist who leads kayak tours in the bay. she is one of the plaintiffs in the peer lawsuit. for years she has filmed what she calls manatee harassment. >> what was it like out there this morning? >> crazy, too many people, too many boats not many manatees, they know where to go when things get crowded. i see people stand on them, climb on their backs to ride, grab and lolled their anybodiers, try hug them from behind and catch a ride. blocking them from surfacing to breathe. just about everything you can think of. >> fueled by the manatee swimming experience provides at least a thousand jobs and tens of millions of dollars of revenue for gift shops and hotels. it really is the only game in

town. >> reporter: so where do you draw the line? >> i think people should not touch the animals or attempt to. i think that's where a lot of the harassment and the disturbance of the animals occurs. >> but it's not at all clear that tourism is harming the manatees. in fact manatees seem to be making a come back. researchers found they were at a record high this year more than 6,000 of them, a 25% increase from last year. and the fish and wildlife service is examining whether they should be endangered or endangered experience. it is the most popular place for observers to interact with manatees. almost every day in the winter it's packed with manatees and with tourists.

>> can these manatees really rest? >> they are very resilient and tolerant they will rest, some are intolerant, that's why they choose the sanctuaries, the places that are out of bounds for people. >> we went for a swim, manatees all around. we drifted gently taking great care not to touch them even those that approached us. some were inquisitive some nibbled on toes and some just swam on by. >> i can't think of another wildlife species where you have an interaction experience, you don't necessarily want to interact. with the elephant. >> then again a lion is not going to crawl up on your jeep and roll over and show you his belly either. >> those who rent a canoe and

take to the water on their own. for now tourists will continue to flock to crystal river thoapg havehopingto have that one life experience, and for now the touching will continue. >> because people think the value is not just in the interaction with the animal but in the touching. >> unfortunately that's what most people want to do whether they go to sea world and swim with dolphins or feed the dolphins and they think it's no different. there's a jie ginormous difference. this is a marine mammal that is endangered and not getting treated as such. sheila macvicar, al jazeera. >> that's "america tonight." tell us what you think come back for more of "america tonight," tomorrow.

international news. shining a light on the untold stories. >> believe in yourself and you'll get there. >> making the connections to the bigger picture. >> shouldn't you have been tougher? >> get the international news you need to know. al jazeera america. >> what are you going to do to me? >> put your hands up. >> what are you going to do? what are you going to do? >> get down on the ground. >> what would you do if you were a cop faced with a split-second life or death decision? tonight i'll take you inside the cost of injustice in america. from the hands on lethal force training that is unaffordable to many departments to the taxpayer funded reforms forced on broken police departments that can't fix themselves.