It is sad to say that the killing of Walter Scott by Officer Slager is all too familiar. Every time we turn around there is a black man, black woman, black little girl, or a black little boy that is being gunned down by those who are supposed to protect us. I read somewhere online that in the past five years there have been two hundred police shootings in the state of South Carolina, seventy of them resulted in deaths, and none of the officers were found guilty. We must stop the violence of our people, especially by those who are supposed to protect and save us. We have to stop sitting and waiting on decisions, and go demand them ourselves. It is necessary that we keep our young black men and women out of the streets and prison systems and …show more content…
We can claim that we are outraged and upset, but if we nothing, we just look like mad lazy black people. To me outraged is when you no longer can take anymore, and I just do not see that here on campus. Those who are outraged were at the rally, they made posters, they joined in on the march, they follow the story, they make sure the story is well heard, and they are willing to help and support our community to ensure this does not happen again. We can all claim that we are outraged, but our actions must match. I feel as if police are killing our future doctors, lawyers, and educators, and they do not even know it. As we watch videos of young black men being gunned down in class tears always come to my eyes. Tears come to my eyes because I know that I have a brother, stepfather, and uncles who will one day have an encounter with the police. Those who have died to police brutality are too my brothers and sisters, and so are other young black men and women, and it saddens me that they are dying due to black on black crime or due to police brutality. Just as I would go crazy if it was someone I knew, I am going crazy for Walter Scott, Trayvon Martin, and others who have suffered due to police brutality. Just as my heart would ache if it were my brother or uncle, my heart aches for Walter Scott because he did not deserve that. Without body cameras or a brave eyewitness such as …show more content…
All police officers should be required to wear a body camera and a microphone that should be turned on at all times. These body cameras and microphones would eliminate lies told by police officers, and would create a true picture of the crimes. Court systems should not just provide any public defender to those who cannot afford a lawyer. Social status should not interrupt the due process of law. Public defenders should be trained to be adequate lawyers and provide adequate service to their clients. As Muhiyidin D 'Baha stated, we need a citizens’ review board that has subpoena power, so as a community we can monitor officers and review their actions to prevent events such as the death of Walter Scott from happening. The biggest thing that should occur is trust should be restored with our community and officer. Somehow we have to make sure that officers respect our communities and our people, and in return we must trust them to protect. We have to erase the idea of officers fearing black men because of the color of their skin, and we have to not fear officers due to other officer killings. There has to be some balance and understanding between officers and communities, where they trust us and in return, we trust them. Finally, we should honor and protect the fourteenth amendment, which states equal protection. Obviously, we do not have
Freddie Grey, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, John Crawford, Eric Gardner, Jordan Baker.These are just some of the many, many African American people that were killed by the police, all unarmed, all mistreated by the police, all shot and killed, without a crime.. Every twenty-eight hours a life is lost. There are hundreds of innocent lives that are being taken away from their families. Police officers, who are meant to protect and serve, are instead killing and abusing civilians. These outrageous crimes would be avoided through accountability of the police, use of body cameras at all times, and the use of social media.
It is a sad time in American history when one can easily recount recent school shootings in their own area. This ease stems from a sharp increase in the number of firearms brought into elementary and middle schools across the country, with an intense focus on the issue beginning after the shooting of 20 children from Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut. Most school shooters are male, white, and often upper middle class. They are also more, often than not, under some type of mental stress that is causing them to create this type of violence in our communities. In fact, many school shooters are never suspected of doing any harm to their peers and teachers until it is much too late.
How, besides protesting, can we truly make sure that there will be no more black people being killed, beaten or tortured by police officers? And how can we promote justice and equality in the law enforcement more often? Step 1. Body cameras on every officer will show a huge decrease in police brutality. Body cameras are not going to make everything stop but it will definitely help instill some fear in those who believe they are invisible and can do whatever they want. Step 2. Establishing a "use of force" policy. Letting police officers know that they have boundaries and failure to do so will result in extermination will also help decrease police brutality cases. Step 3. Training police to be kind and not just scripted. Training police to actually become a member of the community and not just a member of the local police
For example, according to Dara lind “Officer’s aren’t supposed to shoot to kill. They’re supposed to do whatever is necessary to disable the threat”(Lind). Whenever an officer gets caught up in a difficult situation where deadly force is needed for the most part officers do shoot to kill because they feel like there life is in danger themselves. Yes like they said they are supposed to do whatever is necessary so therefore if shooting to kill someone is necessary to them then for police officers it is the right thing to do. But in reality in some occasions deadly force by a cop resulting in someone’s death is not needed and there should be other alternatives to handle difficult problems like that. In addition, “Usually, the point from where the officer believes he has to use deadly force to the point where he uses deadly force -- where he pulls
The United States criminal justice system constantly violates human rights. These rights belong to justify every person in America and should not be used to tear one another down for what their beliefs are. Likewise, freedom of speech is so ingrained in the constitution that it should be more widely embraced. The protection of religion, speech, and expression is a critical part of America’s political system. The strong, direct link between freedom and democracy is unbreakable and is an important part in governing ourselves. It states that Congress is prohibited in creating laws against people’s belief’s; yet, it is regularly denied to anyone who talks back to the law. Furthermore, this country supports the death penalty. While some individuals
We must take actions to reform police behavior! The problem is not the police nor the people of the United States, but the Federal Government system in which we all have to abide by. In order for a police reform to be implemented, the system has to be fixed and reconstructed. The people of the United States want to feel protected by the police, but on the other hand, they receive limited training on how to effectively interact with the people in the community they serve. Police officers are ordained by the power of the government. Police reform should start by giving proper training to new recruits and veterans, enforcing community policing and police accountability.
Guns have the potential to inflict serious injuries, and intensify violence. Gun violence is a constant issue the United States has dealt with for many years. Gun violence is preventable. It can be prevented through a public health approach that keeps communities and families safe. Violence is an epidemic in this society. Preventing the spread of violence has to be a priority.
Police shootings occur all over the world but are a huge problem within the United States. We continue to hear more and more about them. These shootings are making headlines. Front page news it seems almost weekly. All the shootings go one of two ways. Either a Police Officer has been shot or a Police Officer has shot a citizen, but either way the final result is death. Whether an Officer has been shot or an Officer has shot someone these cases seem to be related to one thing, fear. People in today’s society feel as though they can’t trust Police Officers as they are there to hurt and kill them. And Police Officers feel as though they are in danger of doing their everyday duties because people see them as the “bad guys” and want to hurt or kill them. Yes, police brutality and racism still exist, but not all cops are bad. Yes there are still bad citizens in this world that want to kill and harm others, but not all citizens are bad. People seem to react to these shootings by rioting quickly after a police officer has shot and killed someone without
When it comes to African Americans, just a little over sixty-five percent do not believe in our judicial system (Marcelo). There are people living among us who are afraid of the police and what they might do to them. Sadly, it’s a reality that we as a government must deal with. Cops are killing unarmed black men, and they are getting away with it with paid administrative leave. There are a couple of ways to fix it, but the one I think is
Anti-gun politicians are not wrong after all, as we all know guns are used to impair and injure potential victims and naturally people should not have access to these dangerous items. With logical reasoning, clearly any substance or thing that can hurt someone should be taken away or severely limited to only the highest extent. Private Citizens do not need a gun for self-protection because the police are there to guard them, although the Supreme Court tends to rule differently. When confronted by aggressive and violent criminals, you should "put up no defense, give them what they want, or run quickly" (Chairman Pete Shields, 125). Vulnerability of a person during the course of crime causes the safety factor in the situation to increase significantly. Guns are a good place to start, but honestly why stop there? I will further discuss objects that rhyme with gun that should be monitored and controlled as well.
Police brutality and racism are an ongoing problem in our country. It goes back hundreds of years with no sign of it stopping. Police officers have been abusing their power since they have been around. Abuse against African American males by white police officers is getting out of hand. Most officers face no punishment at, and all there is a special code that they follow. Officers follow The “Blue Code of Silence”, which is a code that means they look out for one another. Even with video recording devices, the news, and social media, these events still go on. African Americans take most of the abuse and it looks like there is no end to this. This is a reflection on our society, and it makes us look ignorant to what is going on around us.
Another solution I can compose is, police officers should talk more about these issues in schools. Me living in Chicago growing up in a wealthy neighborhood and living with both of my parents, some people are not lucky as me. They don’t have that proper love and care for them like my parents have for me. A lot of African Americans need to feel that love like they are special and people do care, and who are the better people to do it then police officers. I feel that it would be great if police officers interact with children to gain that trust they need back. If they come to schools and talk about the problems they face and how deeply sorry they are that, some officers are making a bad reputation for all officers and that’s not they stand for will be a great asset to the black community so we can at least feel safe every time we see an officer we need that proper guidance and love from others Police should protest in black communities with black citizens to show sincerity. Police officer have a campaign with sign held up saying “Black Lives Matter”, Police Live Matter”, and “All Lives Matter” this will show society that police officers do care and will result in a rallying cry for police officers that want to see an end to racial profiling and police
Police officers are forced to make decisions every day from deciding whether or not to pull someone over for speeding to whether or not to use lethal force on a threat. My opinion on the officers in shootings is that these officers may take more shots than needed or miss a lot of their shots but it’s going to happen. Most of the police forces do not record such stats and I think they should. However people don’t know how stressful it must be to be in a situation where a police officer is in danger and must protect himself and others from a threat and it is his duty to make these shoot don’t shoot decisions. I also think that police officers should be more cautious and make sure they do every thing right.
The phrase justice for all seems like it doesn’t pertain to everyone. I have seen so many cases of police brutality where they have actually killed someone for no reason and got off with the crime. In my opinion murder is murder and regardless of the position you have, if you do the crime you should have to do the time. Just because you wear a badge, doesn’t mean that you have the right to kill someone. I feel as if its time for the government to start enforcing more laws for police officers and it time for officers to have to have more harsh consequences for their actions.
The movement BlackLivesMatter have outed hundreds unlawful officers and victims that never got the justice needed. The same characteristics (color and style) that emulates strong, noble people can backfire. Black people in this country who actively resist dehumanization makes a call to action and a response to anti-Black racism in our current society. (Cullors, 2015) The growth of the movement has moved country-wide, first starting in the south; the south had always had history of racism and anti-black impulses. This movement is continuing to carry up north and west, and is projected that any officer can be the next one to unlawfully kill another black individual. These immoral police officers are no different from the rest of the police force, their uniforms are no different color or style they do not have different titles, there is no distinction between the these two types of officers. African Americans are persuaded to be more cautious and angry towards police officers; anyone with a cop uniform can be considered a threat to their life. Innocent cops were murdered in retaliation to the unfair judicial systems that are not punishing these cops. Once a police-like uniform is worn it not only once symbolizes honor and power, but t too many communities