Racial Tension And Police Brutality

Recently in the news, Police have been under scrutiny for brutality, especially against minority citizens. There is no question that police officers face an extremely difficult job that puts them in life-threating situations, with split-second decisions that could be the difference of life and death. With the advent of low cost cameras, especially cell phone cameras, police are under constituent scrutiny. Is police brutality really an issue, or is it just an attempt to undermine our police officers? With American citizens losing their life to police officers, it’s worth a closer look.

To begin the police has caused many unnecessary deaths throughout the United States. More than 920 people have been killed by the police in 2015 (“5 Facts about Police Brutality in the United States That Will Shock You”). In Ferguson, Missouri 18 year old Michael Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson. Mr. Johnson a witness at the scene, says that his friend was shot once from behind and then turned to face the police officer while raising his arms in the air. According to Mr Johnson, the officer fired several more shots at Mr. Brown before he fell to the ground (“Ferguson protests:What we know about Michael Brown 's last minutes”). Although Mr. Brown was fleeing from the officer, there was no need for the officer to shoot Brown.

For the past couple years there has been so many incidents involving some sort of police brutality. The mainstream media has shown police misconduct, case after case it has become a routine and making people wonder if our officers of the law really doing their jobs? Unjustified shooting, and fatal choking’s have all contributed to the problem of police brutality in America and also has become very controversial. The police carry an enormous burden each day, which makes their job really hard. Police work is very stressful and involves violent, and split second decision. Nevertheless, cases like the shooting of Samuel DuBose, and Walter Scott and the choking of Eric Garner has raised questions regarding our police system. In many confrontations the police are put in a position in which they have to use force to control the situation, but there are different levels of force and most of the time the situation dictates the level of force that’s necessary. In addition, I will explain different cases of police brutality, the use of excessive force, and the consequences the officers have faced.

I stand here today to present you with the issue that needs to be addressed immediately: racial injustice and police brutality. America is base on the fundamental principle of equality and freedom to be individual. However, this cannot happen due to the unjust to we, the blacks. Our ancestors helped through the civil revolution, many great people- such as Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, President Obama that try to create equality for people. America is a place where people of different color love and accept each other despite their differences. Throughout history, black people being treated brutality that led to the death of many innocent blacks who were killed by police officers, and we need to put a stop to this. People will always hear that their black male or female were killed by a higher authority figure; however, they still face no consequences. Most of the time the police officers that are not held accountable for the killing of unarmed black males because no criminal charges are pressed against them. There are still police officers on the street, discriminating blacks because they do not believe that blacks are equal to them. Many police officers that will kill even a young black male or female and then get a away with it. Yes, all human lives are valuable, but today I am specifically addressing the black lives matter movement. Blacks lives matter movement is important because we are addressing the white supremacy in our nation. It is an cry out for help

All across the nation, in the news the black community has been making their voice heard, in regards to white police brutality, and murder against the unarmed black community. Many of these brutal attacks and flat out murders of unarmed black people haven’t been largely prosecuted, some officers have even been acquitted of any wrong doing or murder. This has led to outrage in the African American community at large. The shooting of an unarmed black teen named Michael Brown caused the racial strain in this country to break.

The use of police brutality and racial profiling is an unfortunate part of today’s society that needs to be addressed. Blacks are being stopped and searched by police officers in greater numbers compared to other races, and sometimes these situations escalate into violence. In the essay Blue On Black Violence: Freddie Gray, Baltimore, South Africa, & the Quietism of Africana Christian Theology, author Darryl Scriven, a Philosophy professor at Florida A&M University, reports that, “CNN reported that May 2015 was the deadliest month for Baltimore, Maryland in 16 years with 35 recorded, civilian-caused homicides” (Scriven 2015). He then goes on to say, “Most of the victims were African American” (Scriven 2015). This use of unnecessary force is not new. Police have employed the tactic of racial profiling to unfairly stop and search people of color, and some of time, this turns violent. There are several cases of police brutality that occurred in the past few years that show many similarities with cases from the past in Macintosh County.

The event that sparked the Ferguson report was the shooting of Michael Brown on August 9th, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. Officer Darren Wilson gunned down an African American 18-year-old. This event ignited an uproar and made national news. This prompted the DOJ to start an investigation. The overall summary of the case is who they interviewed. Personal such as the city major, police chief, city manager, and half of the officer in the Ferguson police department. Researching files, spoke about how the city’s police revenue plan is, how the police department go about performing their duties and exercising their practices. Touched on racial bias in the city of Ferguson, Missouri and the municipal court systems held in place and how they practice

Police officers are expected to serve and protect the people of the United States, however, in many cases police officers have abused their power and force. Police brutality has always been an issue in the United States, especially in the 60’s, where African Americans were not treated equally. A number of laws have been passed since then that protect every American from discrimination and racial profiling, but there are still cases of racial profiling by the police that seem to occur every year. Therefore, police brutality is a problem that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

It is heartbreaking to see videos, pictures and hear of the cruel, unjust stories of police brutality in today’s media; however, it has become a common occurrence all over the world. One of the most recent police brutality case stories is the Ferguson case. The Ferguson case occurred on August 9th, 2014 when Michael Brown, an African American male, was shoot to death by a white, male police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown was suspected of a strong-armed robbery minutes before his death. The story caused an outrage in the media when Darren Wilson, the police officer who shot Michael Brown, was not indicted on November 24, 2014. Riots took place all

In looking for answers as to why police brutality is such a big issue today, we see that the problem lies in past actions that were not dealt properly. First, Prohibition reduced respect for authority and law enforcement, as the police committed various unconstitutional acts. Next, the War on Drugs and the War on Terror changed the image of law enforcement from that of a peacekeeper to that of a domestic soldier. As a result of this inaction, American society finds itself in a crisis situation, where people cannot trust the police and where police are struggling to regain credibility with the American population.

Over the years, the United States has faced many cases of police brutality. Officers are faced with many threatening situations everyday forcing them to make split-second decisions expecting the worse, but hoping for the best. Therefore, police brutality severely violates human rights in the United States. Police officers have one of the hardest jobs America has to offer. They have to maintain public order, prevent, and identify crime. Throughout history, the police community has been exposed by violence in some way or another. Police officers have been suspects in dangerous shootings, severe beatings, fatal chokings, and unnecessary killings. The history of police brutality is repeated, going through stages of violence, corruption, and

Conflict between African Americans and police has been a continuous issue that has been afflicting American society ever since The Civil Rights movement. The confrontation between these two groups is one of the most serious issues in America. From the Civil Rights era to the present, tension has and still is exhibited through media insinuation, intrinsic human nature, lack of awareness, institutional racism and violence, which divides the two groups. Today in society problems mainly emerge between the two groups due to lack of awareness and different forms of discrimination and prejudice. The commonality of police brutality has become a norm in American society so much so that police officers get away with crimes and injustice everyday.

America as a people revel when it comes to our freedoms we think we experience it better than other countries out there, but the defenders of our freedom are becoming frightened and disliked because of the intolerance performed by specific policemen. United States policemen play an important role in our citizens lives. Their job is to protect and serve from all hurt, harm, and danger. Lately in the twenty-first century we have been experiencing pain and hatred from our police departments. Seemingly our police department look only to make arrest against those of color. That is where the role of police brutality and racism comes in. Police brutality has become a repetitive topic rolling off our citizens tongue and being used in action by our police departments. Think to yourself and ask yourself what is the purpose of police brutality? Does racism cause police brutality?

“Hands up, don’t shoot!” These words have become a rallying cry heard across the nation. Recently, in November, when a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri failed to indict a white police officer, Darren Wilson, for fatally gunning Michael Brown, an unarmed African American teenager, protests erupted in cities throughout the country. Americans from all walks of life, from celebrities like Beyonce and Charles Barkley to normal citizens, have engaged in a national over the Ferguson decision. News about Ferguson has dominated social media and the whole nation has become involved in this conversation about race and justice. On December 13, 50,000 people participated in the Millions March in New York City to express their frustration about racial injustice and police violence, one of many protests to have taken place across the country since the decision was handed down in November. On the other side of the debate, many Americans argue that the police must be supported because they keep law and order. They point to the looting and violence that has broken out during many of the protests as evidence for the need to support the police. Even President Obama has gotten involved, announcing he will try to limit racial profiling by equipping local police with body cameras.

Throughout the past couple years, the amount police brutality and racism have increased to an extreme extent. Colin Kaepernick, an American football player for the San Francisco 49ers started a protest movement in 2016 against police brutality and the oppression of people of color. Typically during sporting events like football, the national anthem is played and it is almost an instinct for people to stand up, face the flag, and stand with their right hand placed over their heart to show respect to our country. However, in August 2016 Kaepernick announced his decision to sit or take a knee during the national anthem and several other players ended up joining his protest. Kaepernick stated that he was not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that discriminates black people and other people of color. Kaepernick, along with many people in the world have noticed the increase in police brutality, especially against people of color. On the media we are constantly seeing videos, articles, and stories about police shooting and killing innocent, unarmed black men. These types of videos are going viral each and everyday, showing and proving that police brutality is real and is becoming a huge problem. There are so many people of color who are innocent, but are being killed everyday, while there are policemen everywhere walking away with blood on their hands but no prison time for their mistakes. He does not want to look past this