Police Involved Shootings

In the past years we have seen many riots and debates over the racism and inequalities in our criminal justice system. We have heard story after story, and watched video after video of police brutality and racism in America. We saw the unfair outcome of the Zimmerman and Treyvon Martin case. When George Zimmerman followed and fatally wounded Treyvon Martin, a seventeen year old African American boy who was walking around the neighborhood, just because he looked suspicious to him. In 2014, we saw the riots in Ferguson, Missouri after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a white police officer, sparking a debate over the

Yes I do feel that our police departments generally do a good job of screening applicants. The Knoxville Police Department employees 397 police officers to protect the city of Knoxville, which had a population of 185,638 in 2015 (UCR, n.d.). According to the statistics on officer involved shootings from the Knoxville Police Department there showed to be no shootings in 2015 but in 2014 there were five officer involved shootings, three of which were fatal for the suspect (knoxvilletn.gov, n.d.). In each of these cases the officers were exonerated from liability as their actions were found to be within departmental policy (knoxvilletn.gov, n.d.). I feel that the psychological testing of incoming officers is an important aspect to ensure we hire the most professional officers for our police forces but sometimes individuals with behavioral or mental issues can be missed and any individual who exhibits such traits or bias should be dealt with or dismissed from the force to avoid issues that could impact the entire

Within the past decade there have been several accounts of fatal police shootings. Law enforcement deems deadly force as a justifiable homicide. Not all cases are investigated in its entirety. Stricter laws on police officers should be forced to prevent riots, senseless killings and promote equality.

The current incident I would like to talk about is the shooting of Michael Brown story in Ferguson, Missouri that was occurred on august 9, 2014. Michael Brown was unarmed Black man who was shot to death by a white policer officer, Darren Wilson on Missouri street. The uncertain situations of the shooting, and resulting objections and civil conflict have caused significant argument in the United States. Eyewitness says that Brown was killed while he was trying to surrender himself from the police, but they say Brown attacked Wilson past to the shooting. In addition, they also say that Brown was in robbery before that day, but Wilson did not stop him for robbery, he stopped him for jaywalking.

For decades, civilian deaths caused by police have been a reason for concern in the United States. However, the police are not entirely to blame for their image after these events. Media plays a crucial role in how the public view law enforcement. More often than not, people form their views and opinions of police based off of what they hear and see from others; mainly the media. Stories told by press make up a small percentage of actual events. For example, an African American being shot is more likely to become a big story, even though Caucasians have actually been shot more. The media should release all information they received in as unbiased a manner as possible, to allow the public to form their own opinions. Although white privilege

In the past year, the whole world has had its attention drawn to domestic conflicts between white police officers and black civilians. Since the invention of the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag in 2013, there have been over 50 million posts on Twitter alone under the hashtag. The recent incidents, largely prompted by the shootings of Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin, and the murder of Eric Garner by white officers, has brought both the topics of racism and the militarization of the police into public discourse. Arguably, however, it is the treatment of these cases in court, and the non-indictments of Darren Wilson and Daniel Pantaleo in their respective grand jury proceedings, that have ignited protests and riots from many across the nation who insist

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 last few weeks, there have been some terrible shootings. It seems like lately, there is another violent occurrence that takes place almost weekly. The most recent shootings have created a lot of commotion between African Americans and law enforcement. It had created quite an uproar in some of the public. A 32-year-old man in Minnesota named Philando Castile had been pulled over in a suburb and was shot by an officer while reaching for his wallet to show his license. His girlfriend and her young daughter were in the vehicle with him when it happened. Many individuals formed groups and began protesting within days over the matter because they believed that it had a lot to do with racism and law enforcement treats some individuals different

In many cases, a man was slaughtered subsequent to displaying some sort of toy firearm, notwithstanding directing it at officers, a beyond any doubt welcome toward gunfire. Many individuals, at any rate, passed on in the wake of being stunned with electric immobilizers, some from pressure or stifling, and some from reasons that stay baffling. However, most were shooting. The slaughtering of an outfitted individual prompts dissents and is called unjustified, or the executing of an unarmed individual is viewed as advocated.

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.

A subject that recently has caught the attention of many around the world is Policing and all that comes with it. There are countless people with opinions for either side of the argument. One case in particular that has drawn a lot of controversy is the case of 18 year old Michael Brown. He was killed August 9, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri, a northern Suburb of St. Louis. Brown, an 18-year-old black man, was fatally shot by Darren Wilson, 28, a white Ferguson police officer. Before the incident with Darren Wilson Michael Brown was seen with Dorian Johnson at a convenience store taking multiple packages of cigarillos. Wilson had been notified by police dispatch of the robbery and descriptions of the two suspects. He encountered Brown and Johnson as they were walking down

Over 400 people were arrested, 25 buildings burned, and one person killed during the riots in Ferguson, Missouri after police officer Darren Wilson was not indicted for the shooting of Mike Brown (Wulfhorst et al; New York Times). The events in Ferguson and several other cities have sparked a debate as to what should be done in response to this national outcry. Some people believe that police misconduct is not common enough to be a valid issue, and that increasing checks on police behavior hinders their ability to do their job. Many others are demanding immediate action be taken to reduce instances of misconduct. Police misconduct is a major issue in the United States; police departments should increase training duration and frequency, introduce body cameras, and handle fatal cases of misconduct in federal court to combat the incidence of misconduct.

In the video, Samantha Bee is a reporter, who is trying to find out the statistics on police shootings. Samantha wanted to know the actual number of police shootings that happen annually. Samantha interviewed many people, who are a part of the criminal justice system. Every person she interviewed didn’t know the statistics on police shootings but had statistics on other crimes. All the people Samantha interviewed didn’t know the national statistics on police shootings. The Individuals didn’t know where the statistics were sent to and how the information was recorded. Samantha asked various people the same questions, but no one knew the answer. Everyone who was questioned didn’t have an answer to the actual number of police shootings.

The shooting in Ferguson, Missouri about two years ago, brought out public outrage. The summer of 2014 seemed to have racial murder, after murder, after more murders. It brought out a lot of controversy amongst law enforcement officials. The Michael Brown case seemed to begin the whole ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, as many people were outraged with police brutality amongst blacks. Protests emerged, not only in Ferguson, but throughout the United States, as more black lives were taken by the police force and they started to show them more in the news. The question was, and still is, how does one resolve these issues?

A new study confirms that black men and women are treated differently in the hands of law enforcement. They are more likely to be touched, handcuffed, pushed to the ground or pepper-sprayed by a police officer, even after accounting for how, where and when they encounter the police.