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Police brutality and racial profiling
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Police brutality and racial profiling
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Throughout history, abuse of force has been a major issue for those in our country, especially for those of color. The shooting of the unarmed, black teenager Michael Brown by white police officer Darren Wilson has started a global uproar refuting the mistreatment of police authority. However, corruption within the force has been an issue far before the Brown shooting. The shooting of Michael Brown has simply caused an awakening of the unprincipled use of power within law enforcement.
In 2012, an extremely controversial case took the country by storm. Alvarez and Buckley state, "Mr. Zimmerman said he shot Mr. Martin on Feb. 26, 2012, in self-defense after the teenager knocked him to the ground, punched him and slammed his head repeatedly against the sidewalk." However, the events leading up to this are quite strange. "Mr. Zimmerman, they said, was so concerned about burglaries in his townhouse complex that when he spotted Mr. Martin, an unfamiliar face in the rain, he immediately “profiled” him as a criminal. He picked up his phone and reported him to the police." Even after Zimmerman was urged to stay in his vehicle, he continued to pursue Martin on foot, consequently leading to confrontation and Trayvon's death. (nytimes.com)
The murder of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, like the Michael
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Brown case, sparked protests nationwide and left many questioning the outcome of Zimmerman's trial. Many were outraged that he was acquitted even though his own testimony had proved he was the aggressor. Zimmerman should have never left his car and tried to pursue Martin himself. Furthermore, if he was in such danger, he should have left with the gun easily accessible. Zimmerman was relieved of his manslaughter and second-degree murder charges. Twelve-year old black boy, Tamir Rice, was shot by Cleveland police for having an air-soft gun at a local park. The caller reporting the gun had mentioned that it was probably a fake, but officers were never told this. When the police arrived, the gun was tucked in his waistband and the orange tip had been taken off the gun. Rice was asked to put his hands up, but instead reached for the gun. The officers then fired two shots into his stomach. Reports tell that the boy never aimed the weapon at the officers. Rice died at MetroHealth Medical Center the following day. Many people have been questioning the tactics used in this situation. Many are wondering why wasn't he tased first. The police have all kinds of protective gear and special units trained for such circumstances. Why were none of these brought to bear, instead of what happened? (cleveland.com) These two cases are just a few of many that have happened across the nation. Johnson, Hoyer, and Heath state: There are about 400 police killings each year, and 98.9% are justified. University of South Carolina criminologist Geoff Alpert, who has long studied police use of deadly force, said the FBI's limited database underscores a gaping hole in the nation's understanding of how often local police take a life on America's streets, and under what circumstances. ''There is no national database for this type of information, and that is so crazy," said Alpert. "We've been trying for years, but nobody wanted to fund it and the (police) departments didn't want it. They were concerned with their image and liability. They don't want to bother with it.'' Statistics from FBI data shows that a majority of the youngest people killed by the police during a seven-year period were black. Because of missing records, these were likely undercounted. While many of these people were not angels, they certainly did not deserve to die. They are people with lives just like ours that should not be taken from them. (usatoday.com) Michael Brown was like any other kid. He was born on May 20, 1996. His parents were Lesley McSpadden and Michael Brown Sr. He had received his high school diploma and had plans to get studio time for his music. Brown was often described as a gentle giant whose voice didn't match his body. He was a shy kid who had aspirations to become a musician. Douglas Carr, one of Brown's English teachers had said, "A lot of my students claim to be rappers. Mike actually wrote songs. He had a plan. It was his music, and then it was technical school. A lot of kids who think they’re rappers don’t have a Plan B, but Mike really seemed to." (washingtonpost.com) Unfortunately, Michael Brown was never able to attend the recording sessions. On August 9, 2014, Brown was gunned down by officer Darren Wilson. There are multiple stories of the events that occurred before the shooting. They conflict with each, and seem fabricated to protect a particular side. Only one eyewitness account aside from Wilson's was used in the trial, and it had supported Wilson's story. There are two main sides of the story, one being Darren Wilson's testimony and the other being eyewitnesses, including Dorian Johnson, who had been with Brown during the shoplifting and confrontation with the officer. Wilson testified that the area of the shooting was a hostile environment. He had hoped to arrest Brown and to keep him at bay while backup was coming. He had not been carrying a stun gun, but rather mace. Wilson said the injuries Brown had been delivering felt as if they might knock him unconscious. He had also stated he never fired until Brown had turned towards him. (cnn.com) Wilson had seen Johnson and Brown walking down the street and saw that they matched the suspect description given. He yelled at them to get on the sidewalk, and when they did not comply, he tried to exit his vehicle. When he tried to open his door, Brown violently closed it. When Wilson tried a second time, Brown shoved him back into the vehicle and started to punch him. Wilson felt as if he took another punch, he would go unconscious. They both reached for the gun, and a shot was fired inside the vehicle. Brown and Johnson then take off running, and Wilson leaves to pursue. When Wilson says, "Freeze," Brown turns around and taunts him, saying that he wouldn't shoot. Brown then starts to charge at Wilson, so he opened fire, consequently lethally injuring Brown. (cnn.com) Johnson tells a different story, pinning Wilson as the aggressor. Brown and Johnson were walking in the street towards their destination. Wilson had stopped them, telling them to get on the street. Johnson had told Wilson that they were not far from their destination. The officer started to drive off, then put the car in reverse and almost hit Johnson and Brown. Wilson tries to open up the door, but it bounces off the two and closes. The officer then grabs the unarmed teen, and their is a struggle to try and get away. Wilson had the gun point at the two, and threatened to shoot. Johnson states there was no struggle for the weapon because it was already drawn. The officer fires one shot inside the vehicle, striking Brown in the upper region or his body. Johnson and Brown start to run from the officer, and Johnson ducks behind the first car he sees. Wilson then pursues Brown on foot, never warning to freeze. Brown turns around with his hands in a surrendering position, and Wilson fires more shots into Brown, thus leading to his death. (cnn.com) Social Media has helped present a whole new perspective of the Darren Wilson trial. It has especially helped recognize many faults and holes in stories and Wilson's trial. Tessa Brown states, "An attorney who does not aggressively cross-examine the target of an investigation is an attorney who does not want to get to the truth." Lisa Bloom, an well-renowned attorney, has been tweeting about errors made that she had noticed. In a news conference with Chief Jackson, it is stated that Wilson was not even aware of the shoplifting. He was busying responding to a sick call. However, in Wilson's testimony he stated that he had stopped the two and was trying to keep them at bay while back-up was arriving. (ksdk.com) Bloom points out that this completely contradicts Wilson's statement that he had heard the call. No one had pointed out this inconsistency. Wilson had testified that Brown had grabbed the gun, yet Wilson was never asked how he did so without leaving fingerprints. Prosecutors had never asked how Brown left injuries on his right cheek while standing on his left. They never asked how someone with "Hulk Hogan force" was able to hit full swing and only leave slight pinkness. These are only a few of many errors Bloom has pointed out. (storify.com) Lawrence O'Donnell had analyzed Darren Wilson's interview with George Stephanopoulos and also found many flaws in his testimony.
Darren Wilson had stated that if he did not kill Michael Brown when he started to charge, Wilson would surely be killed. O'Donnell states, "If American police officers shot every unarmed person who runs at them, we would have thousands and thousand more Americans killed by police." Even though Brown was already shot, unarmed, and no longer physically capable of taking his life, Darren Wilson had believed Brown was going to kill him from a distance of thirty five feet. Instead of trying to aim for his leg, Wilson shot him in the head.
(msnbc.com) O'Donnell had also pointed out some of the biased information used during the announcement of no indictment. Prosecutor Bob McCulloch had stated during the trial, "One describes his movement towards Officer Wilson as a full charge." This was the only witness who was singled out during the announcement, and ironically the only witness who had actually agreed with Wilson's description of Brown's movements. However, like many of the other witnesses that testified to this case, this witness had changed their story multiple times, making it more believable and reliable. McCulloch had even pointed this out in his announcement, yet still used a witness who had been just as inconsistent as the other witnesses as key evidence to supporting Darren Wilson's testimony. The credibility of this one witness has deemed itself unreliable. The police interview two days after the shooting of Michael Brown had began with the question, "Could you retell your account of what took place?" This means that this witness had told his story to the police before and it was not recorded. The witness responds with, "I seen the two young guys walkin' down the street on the same sidewalk I was on." Six weeks later, the witness had testified to the grand jury, "I seen Mike Brown and his friend walking down the street closer to the curb, not on the sidewalk." By this time the basic fact that Michael Brown and Dorian Johnson were walking in the street had become a known fact. This is the same thing that the attorney had been complaining about, witnesses changing their stories to match publicly known facts. (msnbc.com) One way mentioned to reduced issues like this reoccurring is for officers to wear body cameras. Many in the force will not accept this method, as they consider it a violation of their privacy. In February 2012, the city of Rialto had seventy police officers take part in a controlled study in which they were required to wear a camera while on duty. The complaints against Rialto police officers dropped 88% and use of force by officers fell 60%. (mic.com) The fact of the matter is an unarmed teenager was shot and killed. Whether it was justified or not is, at this point, an opinion. The trial itself was filled with so many errors that it's not crazy to presume corruption within this trial. We can only hope that this goes down in our history books as truthful as possible. We must wish for a better forever, not a better tomorrow. Rest in peace Michael Brown.
On the night of February 26, 2012 “George Zimmerman who was the coordinator for his Sanford neighborhood watch association is charged with second-degree murder in the death of a young boy. Trayvon Martin, an unarmed high school student from Miami, Florida. (Alvarez) The case began in a small city of Sanford as a routine homicide but soon evolved into a civil rights case, examining racial profiling. On the night of the attack Zimmerman was told not to get out of his car when he was following Trayvon. He described Trayvon as a “guy who looks up to no good, or he’s on drugs or something” Trayvon had his back to Zimmerman the whole time he was on the phone with the Dispatcher, from what the conversation was saying. When the dispatcher asked Zimmerman “is the guy white, black, or Hispanic? “Zimmerman says that he “looks” black, Zimmerman still has yet to see if Trayvon was black, white, or even Hispanic because Trayvon was walking the other direction. Later on in the conversation is when Zimmerman said “now he’s just staring at me”. That would have been the right time to mention the race of Trayvon. As the dispatcher was asking mo...
The case involved a neighborhood watchman, who happened to be on duty when he saw a young black man wearing a sweater jacket called a “hoodie”, walking through the neighborhood. George Zimmerman, the watchman, who was twenty-eight years old at the time, called authorities about a suspicious character walking around in his neighborhood. The authorities told him not to do anything; just continue with his rounds and not worry. Zimmerman, however, decided he would take matters into his own hands. He confronted the young man; they got into a brawl and Zimmerman pulled out a gun and shot and killed Martin. That premise will play a role in this paper as an argument as to why George Zimmerman should have been convicted of committing a crime. Even if the jury could not have reasons to convict him of the second degree murder of Trayvon Martin; they had other choices.
That evening, he walked out to the nearby 7-Eleven to get some Skittles and an Arizona Iced Tea. As he walked back home to his father’s house, he caught the attention of George Zimmerman, who was patrolling the neighborhood and called 911 to report "a real suspicious guy." This guy looks like he 's up to no good or he 's on drugs or something," Zimmerman said to the police dispatcher. After discussing his location with the dispatcher, Zimmerman exclaimed, yelled and there were following sounds suggesting he left his vehicle to run after Martin. "Are you following him?" the dispatcher asked and after Zimmerman answered “yep” the dispatcher told him not to follow Trayvon. Minutes later there were calls about the two fighting and sounds of tussling, then Trayvon lay dead in the grass.
The Zimmerman case allowed me to be aware of something that was right in front of me. At a young age, my mother's significant other was arrested and imprisoned for "trafficking drugs". My mother had always maintained that he was initially arrested due to racial profiling, as there was no sufficient evidence to warrant the police to search his car. Despite this information being told to me as a child, I remained blind to the effects that such a system of injustice could have on your economic status, mental health, etc. However, I believe that the outcome of the Zimmerman trial opened my eyes to this effect. I believe that Trayvon Martin's family most likely received the same financial and emotional stresses due to the racial injustice associated with their experience. However, they had lost their son. Following the shooting of Trayvon Martin, I began to understand the effect that systemic racism could have on the lives of Black people, and how it had already been affecting
The case in summary sparks room for debate on whether Zimmerman should be punished for his actions; however, many allegations lack raw evidence to support their claims. In “The Facts In The George Zimmerman Trial”, by Jeffrey Toobin, the known facts are laid out as the picture of what actually happened on that night is painted. This was conveyed when Toobin wrote, “On the night of February 26, 2012, Zimmerman was patrolling the Retreat at Twin Lakes, a town-house development in Sanford, Florida, At 7:09 P.M.” (Toobin). Later that night “Zimmerman asks that the police call him upon their arrival so he can provide his location. Zimmerman ends the call at 7:13 P.M. The first police officer arrived on the scene at 7:17 P.M., by which time Tray...
The report included testimony from Officer Darren Wilson, physical evidence, forensic evidence, and many witnesses. According to the Department of Justice report on the incident, Officer Darren Wilson was driving after finishing one of his calls and saw Michael Brown and his friend walking on the double yellow line in the middle of the street blocking traffic. According to his account, officer Wilson told them to move to the sidewalk in which they ignored. He then noticed they fit the descriptions he had earlier heard of the suspects of the robbery, he then parked his vehicle blocking traffic. He attempted to get out of his vehicle to speak to the boys but apparently Michael Brown blocked the car door and started to punch the officer. They engaged in a scuffle where Officer Wilson reached for his gun in which he claims that all he had access to. Michael Brown tried to take control of the gun, according to Wilson’s account. (Department of Justice, 2015) Officer Wilson then regained control of the gun and shot Michael Brown’s hand. Michael Brown then took off and Wilson chased him on foot. Brown started coming towards Wilson. Many witnesses even described Brown as “charging” towards Wilson. (McLaughlin, E. C. (2014, August 15) Wilson warned Brown multiple times and Brown kept moving forward towards Wilson
Whether it is Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, and person of the like, you may have a bad feeling about them due to their ill past. This is not due to an inner judgment of the person on your part, more than likely it is the media that has skewed your views of a serial killer. The news media is just playing their role in society and that is to inform people but they do so in a way that frightens people into coming back to view the media that they produce. The other types of media such as movies, television shows, radio stations, and books also portray serial killers as monsters to entertain people. Although it may be a great way to entertain and inform people, it is not the least bit true and gives serial killers a worse image by labeling them as monsters.
reported to 911 that he had spotted a “very suspicious person”. Police told him not to take action anytime soon, but he didn’t respect their words. A few minutes later, George Zimmerman viciously shot 17 year old Trayvon Martin claiming it was in “self defense”. Zimmerman was held not accountable for this crime when it was very clear that he had committed the murder, and it was not in self defense.
This case is about a 16-year-old kid from Miami named Trayvon Martin. On the night of February 26th, Trayvon walked from his father's house in a gated community to a nearby store. When walking back, he was spotted by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer. There have been a number of break-ins in the neighborhood over the last few weeks and Zimmerman thought that a young black man walking in the rain and wearing a hooded sweatshirt looked suspicious. Zimmerman then called 911 to report the person who "might be on drugs."
As known, in 2014 an African American named Michael Brown was shot and killed by Darren Wilson. Michael Brown reportedly was walking down the street he lived on and refused to get on the sidewalk when Darren Wilson asked him to. Over all of the stories and chaos, someone I witnessed demonstrate leadership was my Uncle that lived in Ferguson. When my Uncle first heard the news that another African American was shot in killed, he no longer could stand the fact that so many African Americans were being killed for pointless reasons that could have been solved differently. My Uncle committed to being a peaceful protester and a leader of a protest group for all innocent African Americans, including Michael Brown. He created plans for peaceful demonstrations and locations, he called well known leaders such as Al Sharpton to help him assist with many of the
Chaney and Robertson, (2013) stated that “The Department of Justice office of Civil Rights has investigated more than a dozen police departments in major cities across the country on allegations of racial discrimination or police brutality”. Police brutality is defined as the use of excessive physical force or verbal assault and psychological intimidation. White police officers who grew up in the south and were raised to see African Americans in a negative way have a lower opinion of them. However, not all white police officers are from the south, some say that police officers are just abusing their power. When we look at what is going on around the country, it appears racism plays a part in police brutality. Even during this new digital age, there are video cameras in police cars facing the front of the vehicle, but that still does not hinder police using excessive
A hate crime is a crime motivated by several reasons that include religion, sexual orientation, race, nationality, gender etc. It typically involves physical violence, intimidation, threats and other means against the individual that is being targeted. It is a crime against the person and it can have a devastating impact on the victim. Several argue that hate crimes should be punished more severely. However, it is not a crime to hate someone or something if it does not lead to some sort of criminal offense.
In the national registration of exoneration, 2111 people being released for a crime they didn't commit. Out of the 2111 people, 985 were black and the other 1126 were a combination of caucasian, hispanic and others. The statistics shows that, almost half of the people exonerated were innocent black people. A black person that is convicted of murdering a white victim is 50% more likely to be innocent of that crime. The law enforcement targeting black males, as caused society to see black males in a dangerous point of view. The story Trayvon Martin, a 17 year old boy who was gunned down because his killer George zimmerman chose to not listen to the police instruction. On his way home after buying a bag of skittles and a can of iced tea from 7-eleven Trayvon was approached by Zimmerman. Zimmerman confronted Trayvon because he suspected him of doing something, which resulted in both men fighting on the floor. Tayvion was killed during this altercation by Zimmerman’s gun, and zimmerman was arrested for it. Even after ignoring the police instruction of not to approach Trayvon, he was released on the plea of self defense. According to Blow (2012), “One other point:Trayvon is black Zimmerman is not.” In making this case, Blow acknowledge the theory of how the death of black males are not taken seriously by law
Police brutality is one of the most serious human rights violations in the United States and it occurs everywhere. The reason why I chose this topic is because police brutality happens all the time in the United States and still remains unrecognized by many. Additionally, the public should be knowledgeable about this topic because of how serious this crime can be and the serious outcomes that police brutality can have on other police officers and the public. The job of police officers is to maintain public order, prevent, and detect crimes. They are involved in very dangerous and stressful occupations that can involve violent situations that must be stopped and controlled by any means. In many confrontations with people, police may find it necessary to use excessive force to take control of a certain situation. Sometimes this makes an officer fight with a suspect who resists being arrested. Not all cops in communities are great cops. At least once a year, the news covers a story about a person being beat by an officer. The article “Minority Threat and Police Brutality: Determinants of Civil Rights Criminal Complaints in U.S. Municipalities” by Malcolm D. Holmes from the University of Wyoming, uses the conflict theory to explain why officers go after minorities sometimes causing police brutality. It explains the police’s tension with African American and Latino males. Those minorities are the ones that retaliate more against police officers which causes the officer to use violent force to defend themselves.
Police brutality is an act that often goes unnoticed by the vast majority of white Americans. This is the intentional use of “excessive force by an authority figure, which oftentimes ends with bruises, broken bones, bloodshed, and sometimes even death” (Harmon). While law-abiding citizens worry about protecting themselves from criminals, it has now been revealed that they must also keep an eye on those who are supposed to protect and serve. According to the National Police Academy, in the past year, there have been over 7,000 reports of police misconduct; fatalities have been linked to more than 400 of these cases (Gul). Police brutality is often triggered by disrespect towards the police officer.