WASHINGTON In the coming days or weeks or months, a police officer will kill an American, and a controversy will erupt. Maybe the person will be shot while walking away or holding a toy gun , or strapped to a chair and hit by a Taser , or the persons spine will be severed in a police wagon.

There will be questions about who the victim was and what role she played in her own death, and whether the department is being upfront with the public about what really took place. Protests will bring out hundreds perhaps thousands of citizens demanding police transparency and accountability. The media will dig into the officers history, looking for allegations of racism or a record of excessive force complaints.