Keely Meagan Research Paper

Kirkwood police officers, who were white, would come into Meacham Park to “establish order” and often use racial profiling, surveillance and Stop and Frisk methods to target people of color and use unnecessary force when in contact with African American citizens (Boyles, 2015). It is evident that race and place can help understand citizen-police interactions because these police officers were not from Meacham Park, rather from Kirkwood which is a white affluent neighborhood. It seems that these officers targeted people of color under explicit bias that they are criminals regardless of the individual. When the use of force is used constantly, police-public tensions rise and undermines police legitimacy, which is something that can be improved when there is an increase in police accountability when interacting with people of color.

Patrol officers spend numerous hours a day patrolling the streets; many of these hours are used executing the Stop and Frisk Policy. The Stop and Frisk Policy has caused a lot of controversy nationwide. Recently there have been many cases where the Stop and Frisk Policy has resulted in the death of an unarmed individual, typically an African American male. On July 17, 2014, Eric Gardner died while being arrested for selling individual cigarettes. The police used the Stop and Frisk Policy because they had reasonable suspicion. While police were arresting Garner an officer placed him in a choke hold, while three other man were attempting to take him down as well. The officer that had him in the choke hold ended his life. This incident was caught on camera and caused a lot of controversy because the officer that had him in the choke hold was found innocent by the grand jury (Mathias, 2014, p. 1). Although it has been proven that the Stop and Frisk Policy has prevented some crime, the communities’ reaction to it demonstrates that the policy creates a negative impact in communities where this policy is implemented. Many individuals feel that this policy is a violation of the Fourth Amendment right, is typically only used on minorities, and is very ineffective.

“Officer Jeronimo Yanez, charged with second-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of Philando Castile, a 32-year-old black Minneapolis man” (Capecchi). “Brian Encinia, former Texas trooper charged with misdemeanor perjury stemming from his arrest of Sandra Bland, a black woman who was later found dead in a county jail” (Almasy). “Sgt. Kizzy Adonis, charged with failure to supervise in connection with the 2014 death of Eric Garner, a 43-year-old black Staten Island man who died after police to administered a controversial choke hold” (Eversley). These are a few examples of the mistreatment suffered by young black citizens at the hands of police officers that resulted in the death of a suspect. Throughout the nation, the mishandling of the authority given to police officers has increased and is not merely coincidentally occurring.

Because of the color of her skin, Sandra Bland was unlawfully detained, which was not uncommon in this city. Trooper Encinia, the officer who made the initial traffic stop and arrest, committed an unlawful arrest and failed to correctly do his job, and is now being indicted on a perjury charge because of it. In the video of the traffic stop, Bland repeatedly asks the officer why he was trying to detain and arrest her, but the only response the trooper gave her was “I am giving you a lawful order,” (Hassan and Yan). Though the event was unlawful, it was argued that the incident was not driven by racism. However, Trooper Encinia has worked with some that have committed unlawful acts that were driven by racism: Sheriff R. Glenn Smith.

Since the 1970s the black population of Ferguson, Missouri has been met with prejudice, racism, and injustice. The area has been defined by zoning that made up ghetto boundaries, segregated public housing, and government subsidized development for whites only. This has been going on for 40 years and the tension between the black population and the law enforcement has never been higher. Nicole Bolden who was arrested for several warrants, however these warrants were nothing significant they were failing to appear in court. Nicole did not show up to court for a speeding ticket because she could not afford to pay it.(Placeholder cite) She is a hard working woman trying to raise her kids, work, and go to school. This is a common issue that has

When looking back at all of the success of the civil rights movement, it seems that our country has come a long way on many important social issues. Whether it’s ending racial segregation in public facilities or putting an end to disenfranchisement of African Americans, our country has made many strides. That being said, our country still has a long way to go in order to reach true equality for all. Specifically, when it comes to the subject of police brutality. Throughout history, African Americans have been plagued by unfair treatment from members of law enforcement and with each passing year it seems to become an even bigger issue. In fact, it has led to the protest of many powerful members of society, including Tina Charles of the WNBA.

A young man’s brutal death at the hands of the police is found justified in a court of law due to his “suspicious” appearance: a black hoodie and his hands in his pocket. An elderly woman is fatally shot in her home for her relation to a suspected criminal. A married man with two toddlers is choked to death after a minor traffic stop by an officer who later claimed that his unarmed victim was wielding a gun. These people all have a few commonalities: the color of their skin, their presumed guilt at first sight, and their ultimate unjustified death administered by the law force. These are not uncommon occurrences. Due to the staggeringly disproportionate rate of African-Americans killed by the police, and the underlying rampant racial profiling, police brutality towards blacks in America must be called to light.

During a fatal police shooting in March 1 of an unarmed black man known as "Africa" outside his skid row tent. The man tries to grab an officer's gun when they tried to take him into custody on suspicion of robbery. A homeless woman, Trishaw Cardessa Carey age 34 picked up a police nightstick during the shooting. She was charged with assault with a deadly weapon against a police officer and resisting arrest, and could face 25 years to life in prison under California's three-strikes sentencing law for repeat offenders. After nearly five months in jail, Carey was granted a reduction in bail late Wednesday afternoon, to $50,000 from just over $1 million. I’ll felt that it was necessary fort eh count to take high action because it is the polices

July 3rd, 2013, the police stop a young African-American male on his way home from school. When he asked the officers why he had been stopped, they replied, “ If you aren’t hiding anything, you don’t have anything to worry about”. The police officers began interrogating the young man asking questions like where he was coming from, where was he headed and what he did during the day. The young man informed the officers he was coming from school and was headed home. The officer’s then asked to search the young man’s book bag. “ I’m sorry, officers why do you need to search my book bag? Again, the officers replied, “ If you are not hiding anything, you have nothing to worry about.” At the time this young man did not know his rights and should have

Sadly, African Americans are not the only minority who fall as a victim to unfair stops. Hispanics are constantly being stopped at traffic stops, due to the fact they are not caucasian. In New York, eighty seven percent of the traffic stops were Hispanic or African American (Jost 7). David Floyd was stopped by a New York police officer on his way home for no reason, but simply because Floyd wasn’t white. The officer made an assumption, and pulled Floyd over, even though nothing he was doing was against the law (“Racial Profiling” 1). Police officers and other government officials are becoming known to make assumptions at traffic stops based on the drivers race. While driving through a traffic stop, African Americans and other minorities freedom is in jeopardy.

On July 7th, 2014, Eric Garner, a grandfather of six children, was stopped by New York City police for selling untaxed loose cigarettes. As police officers attempted to arrest him, a cell phone video at the scene shows Garner denying the offense and accusing the police officers of harassing him. Pleading with officers to leave him alone, Garner states, “Every time you see me, you want to mess with me….It stops today” (New York Daily News, 2015). As Garner attempts to wave them off, police officers tackle him to the ground with one of the officers placing Garner in a chokehold as he repeatedly cries out, “I can’t breathe!” (New York Daily News, 2015) Garner loses consciousness and lays unresponsive at the scene for approximately ten minutes where he receives neither police nor medical personnel intervention. Garner, who was eventually loaded into an ambulance, went into cardiac arrest and died as he was being transported to Richmond University Medical Center. Eric Garner’s death captured enormous media attention and ignited a growing debate between civil rights activists and police defenders about racism in the United States.

“I can’t breathe.” A white police officer holds unarmed African American, Eric Garner, in a chokehold for fifteen seconds on the streets of New York City. Ultimately, Garner utters eleven times for the officer to stop before he died of strangulation, only for selling loose cigarettes. Justice is about being fair and equal. Across America, the African American community has been suffocated of their unalienable rights, just like Eric Garner, by prejudices and racism within white police officers.

“Black lives matter!” We have been hearing this, on the news, on social media, and in protests for years now. However, it has become more frequently heard in the past few months following the highly publicized Sandra Bland stop and arrest. Sandra Bland was stopped by Officer Brian Encinia on July 10, 2015, allegedly for not signaling a turn. This stop went wrong almost instantly. She was found deceased in a jail cell on July 13, 2015, an alleged suicide. While there are several ethical issues regarding this case, both parties involved were responsible. While the officers’ actions seem to be the actions that are focused on most, some of Bland’s actions should also be considered when viewing the issues raised. The actions of both parties involved

The issue of race has been a heated and emotional conflict since the founding of this country. Racial profiling is the act of assuming ideas or circumstances pertaining to a certain individual simply based on the color of his or her skin and the racial group to which he or she belongs. Even though the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in 1865, African Americans and others of non-white have still been treated as less than rightful citizens over the past 150 years. The news media is rife with stories of police aggression escalating when the person of interest is African American and African American men are three times more likely to be incarcerated than Caucasian men (Bonczar, 2003). One African-American man, Earl Sampson, in Miami Gardens, Florida reports that he has been stopped by the police 200 times, and 100 of these stops have resulted in arrests (Brekke, 2014). Sampson states that he has even been arrested for teresspassing while working at his job at a local convenience store (Brekke, 2014). Despite his pleas that he was an employee and not a criminal, the police still dragged him into custody (Brekke, 2014). All of these instances of what Sampson is certain to be racial profiling have him afraid to walk around in his own neighborhood from the time he wakes up in the morning to the time he

She was taken to the Waller County Jail; three days later, she was found in her cell dead from what officials called suicide. Both the FBI and the Texas Rangers launched investigations trying to find out what happened. The trooper asks, “You mind putting out your cigarette please?” And Ms. Bland says, “Well, I’m in my car – why do I have to put out my cigarette?” The next part: “Step out of the car.” Ms. Bland says, “You do not have the right.” He interrupts – “I do have the right, step out of the car or I will remove you.” Does he have the right, first, to order her to step out of the car, and second, to actually physically remove her from the car? Ms. Bland says, “I refuse to talk to you other than to identify myself.” “I’m gonna yank you out of here,” is what the trooper says next. Not only is the officer disrespecting the rights of citizen but he is also threatening her and trying to remove here out of her own vehicle without a probable cause”,(Fanning).Officers need to learn to recognize the influence of socially sanctioned hatred, “Every year, thousands of people in the OSCE area are victims of violent manifestations of intolerance. Individuals are threatened, insulted and attacked because of their perceived affiliation with a group that shares a particular characteristic, such as “race”, language, religion or any other similar aspect. Cemeteries, religious buildings and memorials are desecrated because they are identified with one or more of