The Daily Show has probably the darkest, funniest post-Ferguson take on police shootings yet

(Image credit: The Daily Show)

last updated 8 January 2015

The death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, thrust the issue of police shootings into the news. On Monday night's Daily Show, correspondent Jordan Klepper connected some unusual dots, starting with the typical Daily Show panel of citizens who, in this case, don't trust the police — then veering off into an unexpected direction.

Klepper highlights a program started recently by the Austin Police Department to keep police from using lethal force unless absolutely necessary — and to ruin the joke a bit, the program is aimed at reducing police shootings of dogs. And here's the really dark part: In Austin at least, people complain a lot louder when police kill a dog than when they shoot a person. That's why the Austin PD is taking its program national. This gives Klepper an idea for how to decrease police fatalities of humans — and whether or not you see where this is headed, the Reservoir Dogs homage at the end of the clip ties everything together pretty beautifully. --Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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