Case Study : The Fatal Shooting Of Laquan Mcdonald Essay

In recent years and in light of recent tragedies, police actions, specifically police brutality, has come into view of a large, public and rather critical eye. The power to take life rests in the final stage of the criminal justice system. However, the controversy lies where due process does not. While the use of deadly force is defined and limited by departmental policies, it remains an act guided chiefly by the judgment of individual officers in pressure situations. (Goldkamp 1976, 169). Many current studies have emphasized the racial disparities in minority deaths, primarily black Americans, killed by police through means of deadly force. The history of occurrences reveals the forlorn truth that police reforms only receive attention in wake of highly publicized episodes of police misconduct. The notorious 1992 Los Angeles riots brought the matter to mass public attention and prompted improved law enforcement policy. Significant local reforms resulted, for instance, ending the policy of lifetime terms for police chiefs. Additionally, on a broader platform, in 1994, Congress approved provisions to the Crime Control Act in effort to tackle police abuse in a more structured way.

Being that, on October 20, 2014 in Chicago where 17 year old African-American Laquan McDonald was shot brutally and excessively by officer Jason Van Dyke the boy was shot sixteen times the first shots where to his back then he collapsed on the floor the officer kept shooting till McDonald hit the concrete and the officer still shot at him. The Chicago community was outraged about the officer shooting the teenager. Even today police brutality is still out there this is a perfect example of police brutality shooting someone with a full magazine of bullets is crazy and for having a Swiss army knife. The officer will be facing chargers for first degree murder.

There are many things that the officers could have done during the shooting of Laquan McDonald. From my perspective it appears as if Laquan is walking away from the officers. I understand that when there is a knife involved any officer during the circumstances can fear for their life. However, there are other approaches they could have taken. First, because of the simple fact that there was a knife involved and not a gun. Instead of shooting Laquan as he was walking away they could have tazed him. If tazing didn’t come to mind and the first option they thought they had was to shot him that is perfectly untestable considering the circumstances because they clearly didn’t know who they were facing. However, Officer Van Dyke did not have to fire

A miracle NYPD Detective Steven McDonald who was shot 30 years ago and left paralyzed, has passed away Tuesday afternoon after suffering a heart attack just days ago.

Throughout the recent years many incidents have occurred between citizens and law enforcement agents that has brought light to police brutality. The media has played the biggest role by focusing mainly on negative actions that law enforcement agents take rather than the positive ones. Law enforcement agents across the country have received a bad name and continue to receive negative backlash for the many incidents that have occurred. No not every officer is perfect and yes there are bad apples, however because the media has focused on the negativity, people across our country are quick to jump to conclusion when they see or hear what is in the media. Although most incidents may seem similar in the media, in light of the fact that they involve officers shooting “innocent victims”, every incident and case is different and the media does not always show or tell both sides of the story. In this paper I will be investigating two incidents that have occurred in the past year regarding black suspects being shot and killed by white police officers. One case happened in South Carolina and the other in Illinois. After investigating and finding facts I will then compare both cases to the Supreme Court case: Tennessee v. Garner 1985, and determine what case is the most alike to it and why.

The correlation between the police shooting and the violent crime is alarming. The majority of the American police officers is characterized by the extreme deadly usage of force. It has been reported that the number of police shootings has increased from 465 to 491 over the last six months of the year 2015. On the other hand, the police officers have also been on the receiving end. They have also been shot and sometimes killed while on duty. Over the same period, the country has also witnessed a number of officers prosecuted for shooting. However, it has been noted that the majority of the police shootings are associated with the racial disparities. This is because most of the police shooting within the last 18 months involve a white police officer and a black victim. A study conducted by the UC Davis in the year 2015 revealed that unarmed blacks are more likely to be shot by the police as opposed to the unarmed white counterparts (Kindy et al., 2016). In this paper, the shooting of the black man by the name Alton Sterling will be covered with the help of the ethical systems dilemmas to determine any potential dilemma components in the case.

After the deadly shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonalds occurred on October 20, 2015 in Chicago, IL, the police department was in question of its police brutality, biased ways and its inequality when approaching people that live in low income areas, especially those of color. Laquan McDonalds was shot 16 times and killed by officer Jason Van Dyke that night. The department tried to cover up the whole scene as well as the facts of what had happened that night. It was said that Laquan McDonald was only shot ones when in fact the autopsy showed he was shot 16 times (Black, 2015).

Kaepernick began his silent, kneeling protest at the beginning of last season, not as an assault against the United States military or the flag but as a dissent against a system that has, with a great degree of consistency, failed to hold accountable police who kill unarmed citizens. Since he did this, forty-one unarmed individuals have been fatally shot by police in the United States, twelve of them African-American, according to a database maintained by the Washington Post. The city of St. Louis recently witnessed three days of protests after the acquittal of Jason Stockley, the former officer who, while still working for the city’s police force, fatally shot Anthony Smith, an eighteen-year-old African-American motorist who had led officers on a chase. Stockley emerged from his vehicle, having declared that he would “kill the motherfucker,” then proceeded to fire five rounds into the car. Later, a firearm was found on the seat of Smith’s car, but the weapon bore only Stockley’s DNA. The issue is not imaginary.

“Please don’t let me die”. These 5 words were the last words uttered by 16-year old Kimani Gray on March 9, 2013 as he died at the hands of police. Since police officers who are faced with dangerous and armed suspects are trained to “defend themselves”, it is imperative that we critically examine circumstances surrounding the death of unarmed African Americans. Recent high –profile cases of unarmed black men dying at the hands of the US police have sparked civil unrest and protests in several American cities. In an episode of the popular TV show, Law and Order, this is played out perfectly as an unarmed Black male was gunned down by 3 police officers. The episode goes on to investigate the incident, how the cops should be disciplined-if disciplined

There is always controversy around the issue of Chicago Police violence against the civilians. In the past few years, Chicago police officers have been using excessive force in dealing with criminals and civilians. Shootings, false arrests, illegal seizures, and physical violence are problems resulted in police misconduct that have been going for years. Chicagoans now not only start concerning about their safety from the criminals but also worried on protecting themselves from the officers that supposed to keep them sound. Statistic shows that there have been around 56,500 claims on Chicago police misconduct from the citizen since 2014 and roughly 96% of them are abandoned from further investigate.

Throughout the country, law enforcement serves to protect the nation and its people. However, throughout the past years, many disturbing cases come up and people question the true authority and power of those who call themselves protectors of justice. Within the past 30 years, four major events have caught the media’s eye: L.A. Riots, the Trayvon Martin case, and recently, the Michael Brown shooting case and the Eric Garner chokehold case.

This article, by The Wall Street Journal, gives and update into the incident that occurred last September in Charlotte, North Carolina. Investigators found that the officer acted appropriately in the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott. The two-month investigation has proven that Scott was holding a loaded gun, dispelling testimony of family members, who claimed he was holding a book while waiting for his child at a bus stop. A detailed summery of what actually occurred was also included in the reports. Officer Vinson was one of two officers conducting surveillance in an apartment complex in Charlotte. The officers were parked near Mr. Scott, and saw that he had marijuana and a gun. The officers then proceeded to put on vests that identified themselves

Was Orlando shooter Omar Mateen a GayPorn star? There have been a lot of questions surrounding the 29 year olds life after his rampage left 49 dead. And some of these questions are aimed at his sexual preferences in the bedroom. After such a tragic incident, looking into if someone is gay, straight, or bisexual is pretty superficial. However, in this case it may reveal the “why.” A former GayPorn inspired lover of the Orlando shooter came forward and discussed some of the “why” in a news interview.

Police shootings tore apart many communities this year. But law enforcement officers were also victims of violence. 124 officers were killed in the line of duty so far in 2016 (“Majority…” Par 1). Law enforcement officers have held together the fabric of America, serving our communities and protecting people from crimes, serving those in need, and setting standards of conduct (Buck, Par 4). All though most officers are shot and killed in the line of duty, in 2015, the number one killer of police officers is suicide, because of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) from their job (“Police…” Par 3). The police use force, mainly to protect human life, the use of force against unarmed suspects is rare, and the use of force against black Americans

According to the United States Department of Justice, The public has the right to request access to records from any federal agency under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) ("FOIA.gov - Freedom of Information Act: Learn", 2016). A document, tape, or file that has been an agency record accessible via the Freedom of Information Act may still be withheld from public inspection if it properly falls into one of the nine categories of exempted material. Federal agencies don’t have to hide documents that are private information because they are in an expected category, but the law says they may refuse to give material. How a judge defines a word or phrase in these exemptions can result in a significant change in the meaning of the law and can lead