Police Aggression In Kent State's Ohio

May 4, 1970 Kent State, Police Aggression Many events led up to the tragic events taking place on Kent State’s Ohio campus May 4, 1970. Many believe what the police and the Ohio National Guard did there was brutal and unfair, while others think it was justified. It is understood that protestors were warned their efforts to rally peacefully were against the rules and they were told to disburse. However, many still side with their actions because they believe their cause was just and true. Still, once the Ohio guardsmen approached them, protestors began shouting and throwing rocks at the guardsmen’s vehicle, which in the minds of many justifies a portion of the violence that took place at Kent State that day. Because the protestors began using

An anti-war rally had been held, and another was going to be held on May 4th. Campus officials had attempted to stop the rally from happening, telling students it was against the rules, but they did not listen (Grace 18). The gathering had an estimated 3,000 students participated to protest against the war, while another estimated 150 Ohio national guardsmen stood across the courtyard carrying deadly military rifles, ready to fire if the crowd began to riot (Eszterhas and Roberts 39). Many now state the protest took place because of the guardsmen being on campus, rather than the war, though it is still unclear which is true (Grace 17). Regardless, around 11:50 a.m. on May 4, 1970, a Kent State police officer demanded protestors to stop protesting; the students didn’t listen, as stated in Joe Ezterhas and Michael D. Roberts’, “Thirteen Seconds: Disagreement at Kent State (Eszterhas and Roberts 41).” The officer’s car was even hit with rocks after he asked again for the students to leave. After this, the police began to

Jeffrey Miller, was standing the closest to the guard at a range of 270 feet; He was shot directly in the mouth. Another, Allison Krause was 320 feet from the guardsmen, and was shot in the left side of her torso. 370 feet from the guardsmen was William Schroeder, who was shot in the left side of his back, while Sandra Scheuer stood 385 feet from the guardsmen and died after being shot in the left side of her neck (Eszterhas and Roberts 74-75). Nine other students were wounded, all in a matter of 13 seconds. Many asked why the guardsmen fired at the students, and there are two answers. Either they felt their lives were in danger and the violence was the right thing to do, or there was a better way to handle the situation and the violence was simply blind aggressiveness. In this event, rocks are dangerous, but the guardsmen were prepared with armors, teargas, and guns. Obviously, rocks are dangerous to throw, but this was an instance of blind violence. Not to mention the guardsmen acted as though they were giving up, allowing the students to relax, before quickly turning around and firing on them with no warning. The aggressiveness can be seen as police brutality under these