The house where Aiyana Stanley-Jones lived on the East Side here is quiet now, a makeshift memorial of teddy bears and balloons on the porch where the police lobbed a stun grenade through the front window last Sunday. They were looking for a 34-year-old homicide suspect.
The police were being shadowed by a camera crew from a reality television show, “The First 48.”
But Aiyana, 7, asleep for the night on a sofa under the window, died from a bullet to the neck.
Even in Detroit, where deadly violence can seem routine, Aiyana’s killing has transfixed the city, leaving many questioning what they see as heavy-handed tactics by the police — particularly the use of the so-called flash-bang grenade on a Sunday night in a residence where children were known to live.
Beyond Detroit, the incident is raising a larger question in this age of reality TV: Does the presence of TV crews affect how well police officers do their jobs?
Full story: A Tragedy in Detroit, With a Reality TV Crew in Tow – NYTimes.com