Photo credit – Jeff Roberson, AP
The Battle of Ferguson
People across the United States and around the world were transfixed by the events that unfolded in Ferguson, Missouri during the month of August 2014. The uprising originated when an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, was shot and killed by a white police officer, Darren Wilson. While the event remains noteworthy, it is important to note that police accountability critics and activists have pointed out that Brown’s killing was not an isolated incident. They claim that abusive behavior among police in Ferguson pre-dated the shooting of Brown. Conflict in Ferguson, they say, had been smoldering in the community for a long time, fueled by racial animosity and a history of repression directed against Ferguson’s majority African American residents.
To say that the events there have been polarizing is a radical understatement. Community polling in the wake of the conflict documented extreme differences of opinion among residents. Interviews with residents and others outside the immediate vicinity of Ferguson demonstrate there is a complete lack of agreement reality about nearly everything pertaining to Michael Brown’s shooting. Basic facts are disputed regarding how the events unfolded that day – and they continue to be disputed (i.e. how many shots were fired? was the officer attacked?).
Differences of opinion between residents, it turns out, were found to be strongly correlated with demographic indicators of social identity (i.e. race, class, gender, socio-economic status, region/residence, and political party affiliation). That is to say, the understanding of basic facts as they pertain to the case were found to be contingent upon social identity factors, which played (and continue to play) a powerful role in determining how people interpret what happened. And although there is no current research to document this, potentially the same might also be said about how people across the nation at large interpreted these events. And by this, I mean that a given individual’s understanding of the events there might be found to vary on the basis of the very same social identity factors.
Social identities (as opposed to facts) potentially explain why some people see Michael Brown as a criminally deviant teenager; one whose failure to comply with a law enforcement officer’s reasonable requests resulted in him being shot by a police officer. Alternatively, others see his shooting as the outcome of a more complex array of social forces: state-sanctioned murder resulting from a toxic combination of institutionalized racism, police militarization, implicit racial bias, and the hyper-criminalization of black youth – all reflecting what some critical theorists have variously termed the institutionalization of “white racial supremacist capitalism.”
American Apartheid
Amnesty International published a report filed by the delegation they sent to monitor police activity in Ferguson and report human rights violations. Observers called attention to what academics in the United States have been writing about for years: social inequality in the U.S., as indicated by widespread, nationally persistent, patterns of racialized social segregation, is made worse by racially discriminatory police practices. Some of those practices are the result of the discretionary powers granted to individual police officers, though it is also the case that those practices are shaped in significant ways by the systematic and formal enactment of institutional policies and directives.
The Amnesty report findings were issued along with demands that the U.S. government do more to address “systemic racial discrimination.” Navi Pillay, formerly the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said:
“Privately I was thinking that there are many parts of the United States where apartheid is flourishing.” Another observer commented: “I saw a police force, armed to the teeth, with military-grade weapons. I saw a crowd that included the elderly and young children fighting the effects of tear gas. There must be accountability and systemic change that follows this excessive force.”
Bear in mind now how ground-breaking/precedent setting it is to have human rights organizations, whose debates about human rights abuses are typically directed at countries outside the United States, to now focus their attention on U.S. soil. According to Steven Hawkins, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, “What Amnesty International witnessed in Missouri on the ground this summer underscored that human rights abuses do not just happen across borders and oceans.” Yet the question remains: How will the world act when the abuser is the United States taking action against their own people?
Police Militarization
One issue that continues to generate attention has to do with the increased militarization of local police forces. In light of this, it is important to take into consideration how community policing has changed over the years. There is much to discover by taking stock of the different national and local policy initiatives scholars, journalists, and civil rights activists argue are having a lasting damaging impact on our residential communities.
The aggressive posture taken by local, state, and county law enforcement in Ferguson Missouri has drawn attention to these issues in a way that abstract arguments about militarization and equipment transfers never did. Numerous photos and videos circulating in both traditional, as well as social media, dramatically illustrate what critics have alleged is a warrior mentality shared among the police, or to put it another way, an “us vs. them” mentality. The problem with this, of course, is that when police act this way, they are essentially telling the public: “You are our enemy and you will obey us. And you will obey us regardless of whether or not our behavior is lawful. Because if you don’t obey us, bad things might happen to you.”
Protestors and local residents in Ferguson were treated by the police there in a manner that is not much different than the way an Army treats hostile enemy combatants. Military hardware and military-style weapons, including flash-bang grenade devices, were used as a standing operating practice in Ferguson. Noteworthy here is that despite being marketed as “non-lethal,” flash-bangs have been documented on many occasions to cause serious injury and even death.
Photo Credit – Charlie Riedel, AP
Do BlackLivesMatter to the Police?
The issue of race and policing and the movement politics that have developed in the wake of high profile police shootings is an obvious issue that Ferguson calls attention to. According to a report published by ProPublica, data confirm that black youth in the United States aged 15 to 19 were killed at a rate of 31.17 per million, compared to 1.47 per million for their white counterparts. The disparity, in this instance, reflects blacks are 21 times more likely to be shot by police than whites (statistics derived from data reported to the FBI between 2010 and 2012). The report went on to say, furthermore, that it’s mostly white officers who are responsible for the killings.
On Twitter, the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter served as a vehicle to mobilize critique against the grand jury decisions not to indict police officers Darrell Wilson and Daniel Pantaleo. Social media, in this respect, rallied around the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and so many others, in order to ingite a conversation about institutionalized racism that many believe to be endemic to police power, the state, and the criminal justice system in the United States; a system that many people feel sanctifies the actions of white police officers with impunity at the same time as it affirms disposability of black lives.
Reporting Police Involved Deaths of Civilians
The report further noted that reporting the killing of civilians is optional. Consequently, the actual numbers and the corresponding rate is likely to be much higher.
An old episode of the Daily Show used humor to point out the absurdity of voluntary reporting. You can watch the interview, which features a discussion with criminologist and author David Klinger, by pasting this link into your browser: http://www.cc.com/video-clips/v4l2pe/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-a-shot-in-the-dark
Not only does the FBI not mandate reporting as part of its UCR reporting requirement, the DOJ/Bureau of Justice Statistics confirmed that other government efforts to construct data on what are termed police-involved deaths have been off for more than a decade — by more than 100 percent!
Alternatively, DOJ report estimates document “an average of 928 law-enforcement homicides per year” from 2003-2009 and 2011 — this means that previous yearly tallies by the BJS and the FBI included fewer than half of all such deaths. The FBI reported an average of only 383 “justifiable homicides by law enforcement” per year over the same period. Comparatively speaking then, the BJS numbers were slightly closer to reality, averaging 454.
These numbers, by the way, do not include the deaths of bystanders, deaths during vehicular pursuit, or deaths at the hands of federal agents.
There Are Many Fergusons
Long-simmering community resentment over issues of race and class-based social inequality boiled over in Ferguson, particularly as this relates to law enforcement and police practice. Whereas the residential population in Ferguson is approximately 65% black, the police force is 98% white.
In light of this, scholars and other critics like Marc Lamont Hill have pointed out that the problems of Ferguson are, in fact, problems that many communities throughout the United States struggle with; there are essentially many Fergusons. Consequently, there is evidence mounting that the exploding racial tension here portends more wide-spread social disruption.
The situation in Ferguson was made worse when St. Louis supporters of Darren Wilson (the police officer who shot Michael Brown) sold t-shirts to baseball fans to wear as a show of support at a St. Louis Cardinals playoff game. “Go Cards’ was hand-painted on the front and “Darren Wilson 6″ on the back. The significance of the “6,” which was also emblazoned on wristbands as “We got your 6,″ is military parlance that means “I got your back.” The number 6, coincidentally, is also the precise number of gunshot wounds Brown suffered in the shooting.
Digital Surveillance
One last word on digital surveillance, its increasing prevalence, and how we all might encounter it differently, as it is deployed by law enforcement against citizens and vice versa. We have arrived at a point in time where despite the fact that court systems in the United States have repeatedly ruled it is legal for citizens to film police officers, the police continue to harass, beat up, and arrest citizens and journalists who exercise their constitutional rights to do so. Some of this new technology has scholars and activists expressing deep concern, as they warn that anyone and everyone is potentially at risk and can be deemed a threat.
Stingrays, also known as “IMSI catchers” and “cell site simulators,” are particularly invasive surveillance devices that mimic cell phone towers. So, what does this technology do precisely? It effectively puts up a wall between the user’s phone and their cell service provider, forcing phones in a targeted area to send data to the police instead of the nearest cell towers. The phones, in other words, are “tricked” into passing data to the government/police, who are connecting to users personal devices without their knowledge or consent. This raises serious privacy concerns, as many people rightly question how they (and the data) are being used.
The effective range of the technology is considerable: devices can gather records of every cellphone call, text message and data transfer up to a half a mile away. Potentially, non-criminal, non-protesting bystanders are easily caught up in the sweep. This means you don’t have to be a criminal, suspect, or protestor to have your information intercepted- you merely need to be within range of an event and have an operating cell phone in your possession.
Stingrays were first systematically deployed in the U.S. during the Occupy Wallstreet demonstrations to track people who were determined to be “agitators,” though they are now widely deployed whenever there is planned large-scale political protest activity taking place – protests that ostensibly represent protected “free speech.”
Discussion Questions
Do you think it’s okay for a police officer to shoot an unarmed individual if they run away and/or don’t stop running when commanded to do so?
What do you think about police tactics like “Stop and Frisk?” and tactics that target political protestors? Do you think these policing tactics are being practiced in ways that violate people’s basic civil rights? Does this concern you?
When you see police, do they make you feel safe or threatened?
Do you think the police unfairly profile some groups of people more than others? Or are they merely focusing limited police resources on high crime areas?
How do you think your own social identity (relative to dominant power structures) potentially influences your views of law enforcement in general and police officers in particular?
When you reflect on your own personal experiences with law enforcement, what do you think? Do you think your experiences representative of what other people experience or might your experience be different?
Do you find it hard to think about police encounters in a structural way (not just in terms of your own subjective experiences)?
What do you think about the proliferation of cameras and other forms of video technology? How might it be impacting police practice? Do you think the technology (i.e. filming) is good or bad?
Does it bother you to know that you personal privacy is not secure and that your individual movements are being tracked through public and cyberspace?
Sources
Read more about Amnesty International’s “Free Thought Project” as it pertains to Ferguson.
Rachael Palmer says
I personally do not believe that it is okay for a police officer to shoot an unarmed individual if they run away and/or don’t stop running when commanded to do so. Just because the individual is running away does not mean that they are a threat and that the police officers are in any immediate danger. The individual could just be running because they are scared and felt that they had no other option but to run. Police officers feel that shoot and kill is their only option, but these have tasers, mace, and baton that could help in situations. When I see police officers, I feel threatened because now a days you don’t know which are the good cops that want to help, and which are the bad cops that just want to pull out their firearm. Police officers unfairly profile some groups of people more than others. For example, a police officers could be patrolling an area and may see a black person just standing on the sidewalk and automatically think they are waiting to sell or buy drugs, so the police officer will put their lights on and pull over to stop and search the black person. I think the video technology (filming) that police offices are using is a bad idea because the police officers will be worrying about if it is recording rather than putting their full attention to the situation at hand. It could also be a bad idea because the police officers could simply “forget” to turn the recording on during certain situations, so they don’t get caught for certain actions, shooting someone and killing them.
Sam says
I don’t believe there is any reason to justify to shoot and kill an unarmed person. The circumstance is different of course if that person has a gun and draws it at an officer, then they have the right to protect themselves and others around them from stopping the subject from causing harm. However if someone is not armed and the start running, whether its towards the cops or not, there is no reason to shoot them. I feel that is taking the easy way out, they are literally trained physically to take down subjects and if there is enough backup then there should be no need to draw their weapon. They have tasers, mace, baton, and other officers can help. Or if there is immediate danger, why is it shoot to kill when it should be maybe just injure them to delay them from what they were doing or slow them down so then people steps can be taken to ensure the safety of everyone. There are so many de-escalation methods that can be taught and used instead of gun use right away. We hear too many circumstances of unarmed black people being killed. It happens all too often and it doesn’t make sense for this to keep occurring, a change needs to happen. Training needs to be changed, education needs to be pushed, possibly introduce psychological aspects into it in case they ever deal with individuals of a mental health crisis, and so much more needs to be modified of police training.
Christina Pasinski says
In my honest opinion, there is no reason or excuse an officer could give to make it okay for shooting someone while they are running away. If someone enters my home to commit robbery and they run out of my door with their back to me, I am NOT allowed to shoot because they are no longer showing me a threat. It is illegal for me to do that, so why is it justifiable for police? Even though that person who ran up in my house could be a threat to the rest of the community, I cannot do anything about it once they turn their back to me. There is no justifiable reason for police to be shooting to kill anyways. Shooting to injure should be the only thing taught when training to be a police officer in my opinion.
Evan Reed says
I do believe it is okay for police officers to shoot an unarmed individual that is running away and bot listening to commands. Long as they are a threat to the officer or the public. If the person, the officer is dealing with runs and is not listening chances are they are trying to get out of some sort of trouble. Why should the officer take the risk of not stopping the person running away that could potentially go hurt or kill someone else? My personal run in with the police have gone well. I have encountered police, while speeding, do dumb things, and just with friendly conversations. But each time I was honest and straight forward about everything. I did what the officers asked of me and was super polite. Its amazing what listening to an officer and just accepting what you have done wrong can get you. Honesty goes a long way.
Sandra Trappen says
For what it’s worth, I showed this comment to a Federal law enforcement officer with whom I was having lunch, who shook their head in disapproval. The circumstances where this conduct would be acceptable are almost non-existent. You don’t get to shoot people simply because they don’t follow your commands and you can’t beat them in a foot race. That’s probably not going to work out for you.
Sharon Ande says
No, it is never justified to shoot an unarmed person just because they are running. I mean we are talking about taking someone’s life just for running , what if they had mental issues and that led to them running ? This makes me feel like police officers have too much power , if they are not physically threatening anyone , why kill them for running ? All the money we taxpayers pay and the amount of money and new gear put into the police , and you are trying to say they can’t catch up with people running or use other means other than deadly force to stop them? Aren’t there other ways to stop people like tasers , pepper sprays ……
I think stop and frisk is a civil right violation . There is a lot of stereotyping put into it and officers have used it too carelessly.
When I see police officers , they make me feel threatened. This isn’t just based on the color of my skin either , this is from personal experiences. I’ll rather call my partner or family to help me out of a situation, the police sometimes makes it worse,
Yes, I believe the police definitely profile some groups of people like African Americans , Hispanics, and immigrants .There has been evidence of this behavior, it also dates back over a hundred years .
My own social identity might influence my view of law enforcement and police officers negatively, as a black woman with black sons maybe my own view may be clouded . And also from bad experiences with specific law enforcement officers, rather than the larger view of all law enforcement officers
I think my experiences with law enforcement has yet to be positive, I don’t live in a nice neighborhood, my neighborhood is also predominantly black. Sometimes it’s very hard to be an officer in certain parts of town. All police might face is disrespect in these neighborhoods , so they have their minds made up towards people in that neighborhood. My experiences are similar to a lot of other experiences around me.
. Yes of course, there are great patient police? They are not all bad
I think filming is great . It might impact police practice by making them think twice because they know they are being recorded
9. Yes it does bother me , it feels like we have no type of privacy or a say in it . They make the choices for us
Nisa DeFelice says
It should be okay not “normal” as some horrible people say for police officers to shoot an individual unarmed because they are running away. There is absolutely not reason to shoot while they run, if you think they are going somewhere to harm you or get a weapon there is STILL no reason to shoot. Just because some one is running away does not give any police officer or anyone to shoot at them. The body cameras and the higher use in technology nowadays is amazing for the criminal justice system. There should be a way for them to never be able to turn it off for legal reasons. In this case the truth will be shown through the camera , there won’t be anyone’s stories not adding up nothng. Everything that happened in a specific night or day to someone will be shown up in court or any other place to see what happened not just a word against another because at the end of the day not many will believe the victim. The technogoly is so high these days I’m surprised the cameras can’t just have a tape instantly to a computer because any cop can tamper with the system or pay off someone to save there career . In my opinion I feel like the police officers take advantage of telling someone to “stop and frisk” because they use that certain sentence in any circumstance “i told them to stop” well yes they did not stop and i do understand that but that didn’t give you the right to just ASSUME they have a weapon on them and release fire. Then when you check them after you realize they don’t have anything on them your just standing there looking dumbfounded. In this case i think any police officer is just trying to find any type of reason to get these people in jail so that their message isn’t heard and it’s extremely concerning to see how so many of protestors end up in jail all for doing the right thing and fighting for those who didn’t have a chance to speak.
Evan Reed says
When a police officer gives a command everything would just go smooth if people just obeyed. No one would be at risk nor the police officer. When an individual starts running away after disregarding the officers command I do believe they should have the right to shoot for a couple reason. God only know if the runner is going to hurt others in public or hurt the officer at task. It is about protecting the community at hand, and if the suspect gets away no one can say what could happen next. I do not believe police target a certain racial group, it is just more of the area. There focused on getting all the bad stuff off the streets, so once they can figure out what location the stuff is coming from then obviously it will get hit harder then certain areas. If police did not target certain areas and obtain the drugs and guns the best they can people would still complain, pleasing the public is very hard. Cant make everyone happy.
MaKenzie Peters says
I rarely ever feel that shooting an unarmed person is justified. It is never justified if that person is running from the police or if that person is completely innocent. A case where I feel it would be okay to shoot at someone who is running is if that person was responsible for a horrendous crime. Even then I feel they should not be shooting to kill. Nurses are responsible for calming down people who are angry, intoxicated, people with mental health disorders every day and they do so… without the use of a gun. If nurses can do it so can police officers. Way too many people use the excuse “they didn’t know _____ at the time” and I’m sorry but this type of defense will never be a fair argument. Especially with all of the police brutality we have in the United States. Police are given training and they’re given tasers. They should be able to detain a person without killing them.
Anijah Gaines says
No, I don’t think it’s okay to shoot someone running. As we have seen most of time the individual running is unarmed which I don’t see running as a threat more so annoying because now its a chase. Why do cops have to pass fitness test if they think they are not expected to have to run after the potential “Criminal” ? I could at one point see why maybe there would be a time appropriate for the stop and frisk tactic but the only time period I could see as appropriate is when 9/11 occurred. I do not think its appropriate for today’s society and police officers using it as a method to instill fear that was either there or now going to be there. sometimes i wonder if police officers see or hear from previous cases and assume each situation is going to be the same. this system makes police officers see or hear of other cases because i feel like they treat issues as if they were the same if that makes since. we know police officers have more power then someone who is not a police officer but it seems like police officers don’t see that. practicing this tactic violates so many things the first being RESPECT and so any other things yes this concerns me because my generation is stepping into being adults unlike before its on us to help guide the change and with older generations there’s a power struggle views on everything are different. when I see police I get nervous if I get pulled over I usually call my mom who is white and I mute her under my leg because you never know who your going to get which usually put knots in my stomach. I think police officers profile everyone they are human we all do it but because they have badges it’s different. When I think about my experience it probably is different honestly maybe a little similar your experience with the cop depends on I feel like the mood of the officer that day as sad as it sounds. I think camera’s are good to have but there needs to be a higher up organization keeping the tapes so that no officer and tamper or simply turn the camera off and see how that goes. I personally would rather my truth to get out versus getting into a situation with the police officers and it becoming a them vs her situation.
Alyssa Kennedy says
I feel like it should not be okay for a police officer to shoot an unarmed individual who is running away. Even if you believe they are going to get a weapon and cause danger to others it is not okay to shoot someone who is unarmed.
I feel like some police officers take advantage of being able to “stop and frisk people. They definitely profile certain groups and stop and frisk them more often. As for the protesters, I feel like the police are just looking for any reason to get these people in jail so their message is not heard. It is concerning to see how many protestors are ending up in jail.
Personally when I see a police officer I don’t feel threatened unless they give me a reason to feel that way. In most of my encounters with law enforcement, they’ve been helpful, or as much as they can be. I know thats not always the case though. I’ve never had a negative run down with the police, other than a traffic violation, but thats my own fault. I know my experiences with law enforcement aren’t a direct reflection of what other people experience. As a criminal justice major I’ve grown a lot of love and respect for those who are in law enforcement. I do feel like I tend to be more biased towards law enforcement in certain situations just because this is the subject i’m studying in college and its what I want to pursue a career in.
I feel like the advancement in technology and the use of cameras is good for the criminal justice system. Everything is caught on camera and police officers shouldn’t be able to turn their camera off ever. That way there are no discrepancies in anyones stories, and he truth is told all of the time.
Brendan C says
In my opinion it is never okay for police to open fire on an unarmed individual. Regardless of them not stopping when being commanded to, if they are unarmed, they should not be fired upon. As a white man in America, I am never in fear or threatened by police. I believe this says a lot. No one should be in fear or threatened by police, except those who commit crimes. I do believe that police target certain groups more than others. I never feel like I am ever going to be stopped or even that police are worried about what I am doing. Walking around Oakland at midnight I never feel like I am going to be stopped. The whole Black Lives Matter movement is a testament of the issue in America today. African Americans are stopped, harassed, incarcerated at a higher rate, and unfortunately killed by police. Regardless of how limited police resources are, it is not an excuse for the unarmed shootings. I also understand that some areas need to be policed more heavily. However, what I fail to understand is why African Americans are incarcerated at a higher rate than whites for the exact same crime. IF you are going to more heavily police an area, meaning you will have more stops an encounters, then you need to step up the training and make sure the police are well prepared to protect its citizens, not scare them.
Jeremy Cramer says
In many cases, it is 100% not justifiable to shoot an unarmed suspect in the back, or in general, especially if they are running away. The only time that it may be acceptable is if they do have a weapon, and/or posing a threat to the officer at the time of the confrontation, or the community in the surrounding area at the time. If there is an immediate threat to where the officer, or the community around them is at severe harm to be damaged, injured, or killed, then the officer could shoot. I personally believe that there is no need to immediately go for that kill shot that ends up killing these individuals, rather than shoot. There is the option to use the tazer that they are provided to slow down the suspect to where they are able to make an arrest that does not end up with a suspect dead, mainly for unarmed suspects. There are many ways the officers could de-escalate these situations before moving on to shooting the individual.
Alyssia Tucker says
There are certain instances when shooting an individual in the back who is unarmed can be justified and in certain areas and departments is actually legal and in my opinion, I agree. The only two instances in which I agree would include, if the suspect was in the commission of a felony and fleeing and also if the suspect posed a danger to the community if he or she would escape.
I believe the “stop and frisk” tactic is not only an unjust tactic but a very dangerous one. Not only does it and has opened the door for racial profiling, it also opens the door to possible harm on a police officer. Giving a police officer the power to stop and frisk someone because they believe a person may have a weapon or may be a danger, allows them the freedom to use their judgement, which at times, can be clouded. This also gives power to police officers in which can cause them to feel “untouchable” or cause them to treat the public in a disrespectful manner. It’s no secret that some cops are corrupt and those cops would be the ones I am referring to when it pertains to clouded judgement. Giving a law enforcement officer the freedom to do almost anything, gives that officer the ability to abuse their power, and in some cases, this has been proven. Moreover, the “stop and frisk” tactic violates our 4th amendment which protects us from unreasonable searches and seizures.
I personally don’t feel threatened or safe when I see a police officer or several police officers. I do believe that even if someone isn’t committing a crime or doing something wrong, it is natural to feel nervous when seeing a police officer. I interact with police officers daily in my profession so I have just come accustomed to having them around.
I definitely feel as though police officers, but not all, unfairly profile certain groups more than others. It has nothing to do with policing in high crime areas as they profile certain groups even in low crime areas.
I don’t believe my race and social class have anything to do with my views of law enforcement in general. I believe my own experiences in life have brought me to the views that I currently have. However, prior to my own experiences with the law I used to feel as though my race and social class gave me more rights than people of different races and of lower social classes in the eyes of the law.
I believe experiences with law enforcement have many factors not only including race, gender, sexual orientation and social class but it also has to do with the police officer themselves. There are millions of police officers patrolling our streets and with those millions of police officers come millions of different personalities. Unfortunately, a lot of us have to come in contact with the wrong law enforcement officer, the one with the chip on their shoulder. I am a young female and I work in a predominantly male position which doesn’t always get me the respect I deserve from the police or the people I work with. My own experiences with law enforcement have mostly been great experiences but I have had one experience in which I will never forget and it was most definitely a negative one. I strongly feel this negative interaction was only a result of the police officers themselves. We are mainly dealing with younger officers these days and it seems as though a lot of these younger officers go overboard on many issues. I also believe a lot of these officers, at times, make things more difficult for a person/offender. In my profession, I have personally seen police officers go too far in their position. I have also personally reported officers for any kind of misconduct.
I most definitely feel as though the recent use of cameras are a positive thing, not only does it protect the civilian but it also protects the police officer. I think it will help a lot of officers give offenders more chances to comply than previously but I don’t think cameras can help with daily issue we see with racial profiling. Also, corrupt cops will always be corrupt cops and unfortunately, a camera won’t stop them from any type of misconduct, especially if they are racist. Take for example the George Floyd case, that police officer was full aware he was on camera and not one bit of his training entered his mind, him being absolutely in the wrong never entered his mind. The only thing that appeared to enter his mind was the hatred he clearly had for the man under his knee. In those cases, not even a body cam will help stop the hate and racism in the world.
It doesn’t ever cross my mind enough to bother me that my personal privacy is not secure and that everything is being tracked through cyberspace. I honestly don’t have a care in the world about what people see about me or if they know what I am doing online or just in general. I think in a lot of cases, the track on social media pages, computers and cell phones are a positive thing. Tracking in those instances can sometimes save a life of a person who may have been abducted, assaulted or missing.
Kimberly Feehan says
I do not think it is okay for a police officer to shoot an unarmed individual even if they are running away and are told to stop. If the individual is not armed the police officer can tase them instead of shooting them. They might just be running because they fear what the police may do to them. The practice of “stop and frisk” should not be used in policing. Police have no right to stop people and basically search them for no reason. These policing tactics are being practiced in ways that violate basic civil rights because the police are mostly targeting African Americans and minority groups when using tactics like “stop and frisk”. This concerns me because it is not right and if they are going to use these tactics, they need to use them on all people not just African Americans and minorities. Personally, when I see police, I feel neither threatened nor safe. Since I am a white female, I feel the police do not really target me. I think the police unfairly profile certain groups of people more than others. Reflecting on my own personal experiences with law enforcement, I think my experiences would differ from many other people. Being that I am a white female I feel the police do not target me as much as they would a black male. I also feel that when I have had experiences with the police, they treated me with respect. I am sure that African American males have not been treated with much respect when they have experiences with the police. When it comes to police and technology, I feel it is holding police more accountable for their actions. Now that most police departments utilize body cameras and they know people can now easily film them from their cellphones they have to act more appropriately and be much more careful how they handle certain situations. It does bother me that my personal privacy is not secure and my individual movements can be tracked but I feel that as long as people aren’t doing anything wrong like committing crimes, they shouldn’t be too concerned about this.
Lexus Santiago says
There is never an excuse to shoot an unarmed person running away. I will never understand why officers do that other then race. If a person is running away from you and there unarmed what harm can they bring to you. Even if you ask that person to stop running and they don’t, that is still not a reason to shoot them. There are many other measures to getting them, From my own personal experiences, where I’m from no one looks at police officers as “help” or “hero’s” they look at them negatively because of what they do. I don’t have a completely negative view when it comes to cops because no there not all bad but the bad ones in the bunch ruins it for them. When I see police I do not feel safe more so uncomfortable because I’ve seen it numerous time of how people of my race are treated. A simple traffic stop results in an unarmed black persons life. I don’t think I will ever feel completely comfortable if a police officer is around, possessing a badge, firearm, and vest gives them thus power that they can do whatever they want and there’s no punishment for it. I also believe that the police do profile African Americans more than any others. A group of black people in one area raises the eyebrows of people. Cops almost always assume the black person did it over any other race. It is truly sad to know that the people who took this job to protect and serve are doing the opposite of it.
Martaya Turner says
When I see the police I do feel threatened more so uncomfortable, because I have had a negative experience with police. It was typical stop and frisk harassment because me and friends are black. I do not think every cop are the same but a bulk of them are biased towards my racial group. The police is not my protection I look at them more as enforcement of the law. I don’t think it is okay for police to shoot anyone who is running away. There are so many other options rather than shooting someone a taser gun, a warning shot in the AIR, or chase after the person, but these cops done got lazy. A police officer should be able to closely analyze someone to foresee if they are in serious danger. Police officers job description is to protect and serve the community, but they are also trained to shoot to kill and that confuses me. They are suppose to protect us but instead we fear the people in blue. Police brutality comes with a lot of power and force. As stated before we all have bias towards something or someone unconsciously, so yes I believe police officers profile a particular group of people more than other groups. When force is used the race of the person, being stopped by officers is significant. Blacks are more likely to be victims of use of force by police than any other race, and although officers apply force less than two percent of all police interactions with people, the use of force is disproportionately high for black people. So again I feel extremely uncomfortable when I see police because I am black.
Nathan Bostedo says
I understand how police officers lives are in danger sometimes, but that does not give them the right to shoot an unarmed person. How would a police officer like if we took away all of their protection and shot them while being completely vulnerable. The whole story of Ferguson is very messed up and is the exact reason why most law enforcement officials are corrupt and think that they own the world. We cannot just sit back and watch these horrible things keep happening. Police officers are constantly abusing their power and honestly make people scared rather than safe. Something needs to be changed about how police officers become police officers. In my honest opinion, police officers are the most violent people in our society. And now with how they are shooting unarmed civilians is just not right. I understand that when police officers go through the academy that they are trained to shoot to kill. Maybe they should be taught to shoot to injure especially if the person is unarmed. If they are unarmed, then are they really a threat to police officers? I feel bad for the black community because they are constantly looked at by police officers as being violent and up to no good. Just because you are black it does not mean you are a criminal or have a weapon. Our society is messed up in a lot of ways because everyone thinks they are better than everyone else. If people would just know that they are equal with everyone else, then our society would be a much better place.
Alec DellaVecchia says
I do not think that it is acceptable to shoot an unarmed suspect especially if they are running away. They are not posing any bodily harm to the officer. The officers also have less than lethal ways of stopping a suspect that is running away. Also, threatening to arrest someone without a justifiable reason is wrong. There is no reason to threaten it. If someone is doing something that is illegal and is a justifiable reason, than arrest them. But if it is just something that the officer doesn’t like, then they should not be threatening them with arrest.
Jocelyn Vargas says
Mike Brown’s death pushed “Black Lives Matter” into an empowering and impactful movement. Ever since police officer Darren Wilson shot Brown, the words black lives matter went public outcry to a national movement. Black people have been fighting for justice for for decades. But seeing the images of Browns body lying on the street sparked something within the black community. The most shocking part of it all is how the police officers responded to protesters. Police responded with armored vehicles, military-grade equipment and disproportionate force. Police brutality always follows with so much force in this country. And there is hardly ever any responsibility that is taken by our system. They are always blaming the victim. I believe that hashtags are important as well in our generation. Multiple hashtags found widespread use after Brown’s killing, including #HandsUpDontShoot and #NoJusticeNoPeace, driving demonstrators into the streets. Mike Browns death is so historic. We are learning more ad more everyday because of his death. More about ourselves, and more about our system.
Julian Pantoja says
I do not think it is okay for a Police Officer to shoot an unarmed individual if he/she is running away. An officer should be able to use proper judgement and articulate if a person is deemed a high threat. If a cop can determine correctly that a person is a high risk criminal, especially if they see the person with a gun, then I think it is okay to shoot at a person running away. I read an article once in the paper about a Reading cop who was looking for a suspect and the suspect threw his gun away. Then, the Reading cop put his gun away and began to just chase him without the need to shoot. While I was reading that, I assumed the cop articulated and determined the suspect was in that moment not a threat. A lot of things come into factor when deciding when is it right to shoot a gun. As for police who profile some people more than others, I think they do without realizing that they are. However, as we have discussed in class, I think we all have some bias stereotype towards a particular group.
Daniel Reynolds says
I do not think it is okay for a police officer to shoot an unarmed individual if they do not stop running away. This is just wrong. The police officer could have done other things besides shooting the individual. You could just run after him or call for help. Police officers should not threaten an individual with arrest without a justifiable cause. An example could be when someone starts using their phone to record an arrest, they could be threatened by a police officer with arrest if they do not stop recording. It does not bother me that my personal privacy is not secure and that my individual movements are being tracked through public and cyberspace from law enforcement. I do not have anything to hide from law enforcement.
Francisco Moreno says
Police shouldn’t shoot an unarmed person running away because there are many other options that they have to chase someone down and still be living. This past year its been making headlines not just once but multiple times and it’s getting out of hand. Then officers who arrest without a justifiable cause are just abusing their power and they think they are above everyone and could get away with it. Officers should treat everyone equally and not judge because of race. With that being said there are hundreds of million people being stopped which they are all innocent and they are stopped because of the police’s racial bias. Now many people have to worry about cops being bad instead of them feeling safe and protected. For privacy, I have nothing to hide but yet again its crazy to think that we were being monitored this whole time. Yet again, we cant do nothing about it.
Mikhaiel says
Absolutely not, I do not think its okay for an officer to shoot an unarmed individual if they are running away. It’s almost become a weekly thing in the past year, we keep hearing cases of where a person is unarmed and yet an officer or multiple keep scared for their life to the point where they need to shoot rounds. Even with the most recent high profile case, Stephon Clark, we have the same case. It’s almost becoming a formula. I do think police are unfairly profiling some groups of people more than other. I’m not sure if its because for the past five years that’s all we’ve been seeing on a nationwide scale. I also dont think its okay for a officer to be threatening an individual with an arrest without a justifiable cause. Every single time I hear a auto recording of a pull over stop it turns horribly wrong because of a threatening of arrest, I immediately get uncomfortable. I don’t think it’s morally or ethically acceptable at all. These riots, such as the one as Ferguson, is really embarrassing. We, as a country, seem to have our hands in many political issues across the world, but our homeland is so broken in so many ways and we have yet to be able to address and fix the problem. It’s only a matter of time until the next riot implodes. The above article says, “… Ferguson is approximately 65% black, the police force is 98% white.” I’m wondering if the officers that represent the town or city actually make up the demographic of that location would change anything. Would that racial tension still exist?
Caleb Naylor says
No, I don’t think it is okay for a police officer to shoot an unarmed person that is running away. There are other methods that can be utilized by the officer, such as a taser. While threatening an individual with arrest without justifiable cause is far from shooting someone, it still seems like an abuse of power by the officer. I thought it was very interesting that the article mentioned IMSI catchers, which are a hot topic in the cyber community currently. They seem to be being used mostly for protests, as if protesting is not a right guaranteed by the first amendment. Of course police unfairly profile some groups, profiling is one of the factors that has led to our acknowledgement that change is needed. Personally, I have never really had any major negative experiences with law enforcement, but I do understand that many people cannot say the same. Ultimately, the system is not operating the same for everyone. As far as privacy goes, I don’t really have anything to hide, but it is still concerning that almost everything online is being monitored. However, at this point, it does not seem like there is much we can do about it.
Llareli says
To a certain extent, I think the police unfairly profile some groups of people more than others. If a city is predominately filled with blacks or Hispanics, I believe that officers will profile based off of their previous experiences with minorities. To explain, the article mentions that blacks are 21 times more likely to be shot by police than whites. Based off of the other readings in class, a pattern is consistent on the times a black male dies by the hands of law enforcement. In essence, people like Brown who fail to comply with an officer’s request will either get shot or chased down. In his case, the officer decided to shoot. At times, I do question how an officer should handle a person who refuses to comply. Certainly not to shoot right away, but perhaps different tactics should be incorporated when faced with that situation.
Saniya Daryanani says
I personally do not think it is okay for an officer to shoot and unarmed individual if they don’t stop running away, nor is it okay to threaten arrest without a justifiable cause. because not only are they excessive tactics but they have serious consequences such as loosing the trust and respect of the people they are meant to be protecting. I feel like tactics like stop and frisk or those that target protestors have the same problem, by assuming guilt their is a violation of trust and basic civil rights of freedom. These actions make even me feel threatened I am well aware that the police unfairly profile minorities over other groups because they subscribe to certain stereotypes. While they may be high crime areas there is excessive amounts of officers for even that. I feel like the Indian minority is a little bit more respected than some others so I don’t have as much to fear from law enforcement, but misconceptions of my religion, many believing I am Muslim as opposed to Hindu (because of the terrorist stereotypes that come with that)opens me up to profiling as well and makes me slightly afraid of law enforcement and influences my instinct to stay away from them. While I personally have not had many experiences with law enforcement, part of the reason for that is my reluctance to get near them overall, due to that I have not seen that full spectrum of police interactions personally. I am able to be critical of law enforcement because as a minority I am afraid of them sometimes as well like many others, therefore am not bias towards them. I feel that cameras are important tools in making sure officers do their jobs fairly and without bias towards race, we would not have the same knowledge we do now about mishandling of situations by law enforcement if it wasn’t for video technology; I believe it will be the thing that pushes us to fairer policing in the future. I personally don’t really think about the online tracking issue very much, but that may just be because I have nothing to hide. Finally social policy has contributed to the “hyper-ghettoization” of many neighborhoods in the way that the concept of segregation is so deeply ingrained into it that many of those neighborhoods don’t have the same opportunities and such. This means that the neighborhoods get progressively worse and more segregated due to social policy continuing a downward spiral.
Alexis Cruz says
The whole incident that happened in Ferguson, when a young unarmed African American teenager named Michael Brown, was shot and killed by a white police officer. This brutality and animosity between African Americans and police, and the government dates all the way to slavery. Its ingrained our history , racism may not be shown as much as it was back them but, its definitely alive in today’s society. We as a country we went from just social segregation But something worse by the racial discriminatory police practices called “systemic racial discrimination.” The term “Systemic racial discrimination’ can be described as patterns of behavior, policies or practices that are part of the structures of an organization, and which create or perpetuate disadvantage for racialized persons. This has to stop there has to be a better way to police that doesn’t.
donia julka says
I do not believe it is right for a police officer to shoot an unarmed individual even if the suspect does not stop running. I believe this because the police officer does not know if this person is innocent of guilty of a crime. Police officers are shooting innocent people, that aren’t doing anything wrong. I believe police officers make their own assumptions and blame innocent people for their own actions. Police officers don’t have the power or knowledge to shot anyone without a reason. There are certain people that look or dress a certain way that might make them look suspicious, but that should not be the foundation for a police officer to kill someone. Certain people don’t stop and start to run away from the police officers because they are scared. In other situations people believe that since they are a certain race, gender or ethnicity the police will abuse them or even kill them. Police officers will always find something wrong when they stop someone rather it is by driving or walking. The police officers want to win and prove themselves innocent always. But I also believe that it is the right thing for a police officer to stop people too. This is because we need to check on random people and make sure they are not doing anything wrong. I understand that the police are trying to protect us but they take advantage of their job.
Daisy Serrado says
I do believe that some police officers unfairly profile some groups of people more than others. Such as black and Hispanic people in poor communities because they don’t have any power or knowledge of their rights or education and that makes them vulnerable. Also people in poor communities dresses up in a way that makes anybody think that they are from gangs. Or sometimes walking in a suspicious way can catch officer’s attention to think the worse but in most of the times that is just the way people are and not necessary mean they’re bad people. They don’t have the money to buy elegant clothes, get education, or manners to behave like police officers would want. Because since police officers don’t come from poor families they don’t know what is like to have lack of education, etc. And that is why police officers focus on specific groups that are more likely not able to defend themselves. And the ones that win something out of this are police officers.
Magaly Gonzalez Hernandez says
I do not think it’s okay for police officers to shoot an unarmed individual if they don’t stop running because the officer may end up killing the person. I understand that the person isn’t suppose to run away from cops when getting arrest but this doesn’t give the right for police officers to do that the the people. The police officer doesn’t know what he/she may be dealing with. The person is unarmed and what is the least that a person with no weapon can do to the officer isn’t much. In my opinion they shouldn’t shoot because it may cause a death.
Sharmila Taveras says
Sharmila Taveras
2/11/2016
Cops want us to know they are omnipresent even though they are not. that way people think twice before acting out. Even though someone might not be on that other side of the camera it gives a sence that someone is watching so you better be good.Technology has advanced greatly. Unfortunately cops can turn off the camera so other people do not know what is going on! People have cameras every where. The cops no longer have to walk he beat or use Patrol cars to see what is happening. The bad part is that people will not have trust towards Police Officers. Their privacy will be violated. But on the other side cameras can be useful to capture suspects and make sure they do not get away with a crime. It hard to say but someone might be thinking “Oh, cops do nothing all day what are they getting paid for?” These cameras do not build relationships with people. It can make them like robots without sympathy. Not feeling bad for the victim or the suspect. It might make them hard or cold not caring about others because there is no relationship. Who cares is the attitude that is adopted. If you do not care about me. I do not care about you!
Sharmila Taveras says
Sharmila Taveras
2/11/2016
Absolutely not! An officer should not shoot an unarmed individual who is running away. What if the table was turned around and the police officer had no weapon t defend themselves? How would you feel? It is a life that we are talking about here. You are dealing with someone elses loved one. What if they are innocent. Once that person is dead, there is no coming back. We are not Gd to be talking other peoples lives.
Sharmila Taveras says
Sharmila Taveras
2/11/2016
Do you think it’s okay for a Police officer to shoot an unarmed individual if they do not stop running away?
Absolutely not! I understand that you want to stop the suspect but shooting the person is definitely not the way to go. We have had a lot of shootings. People are afraid of cops because they Tazer and Mace people for no obvious reason. Of Course they are going to run away from you. Only God gives Life and only God can take it away. You should not be shooting people for no reason. It’s not like they escaped from prison. It is a lot of work to chase your suspect but shooting them in he head is not the way to go!
Thuan Tran says
I believe that there are other ways to detain a person that is unarmed and running away without shooting the person. Police officers are trained supposed to be trained to chase after a person other than just shoot anyone who runs away, which anyone can do by pulling out a gun and shoot. There are other means other than shooting, such as chase the person by foot and if not by car, or even to an extent tasering the person that’s trying to run away. All that training that took to become a police officer went right into the toilet.
Cristina Reynoso says
I believe the police tactic “stop and frisk” can be very effective as long as it’s done the right way. I think I would feel safe knowing people get searched because we are living in a world full of violence. There is a lots of gangs, terrorist attack, robbery, etc. A person can be walking near you with a gun or knife waiting to attack. Sometimes people know they can be stopped by a police officer and get caught with a weapon on them and they still don’t care and still carry them anyways. So imagine a person knowing they will never get stop because the police officer doesn’t have the right to search them. I want to feel safe and if I know they are stopping people and even if they stop me I would know that they are doing their job in keeping me safe.
Chelsea Cruz says
Police officers should have no right in using their weapons on unarmed individuals. They tend to use their weapon very loosely and shoot whoever they feel like should be injured or killed. They should only use it when they notice that the suspect has a weapon on them and sees whether or not they have it on their hands or they take it out of their pocket or even underneath their shirt. Cops should always have a reason why they use their weapon and what was the cause of them using it. In my opinion, I feel like police officers shouldn’t arrest people if they don’t have sufficient evidence on what they thought the person was doing and they’re just violating the people’s rights when making a false accusation which can lead to a false arrest. This is when Stop & Frisk comes along and plays the role in police officers performing it. I highly recommend for Stop & Frisk to be regained back into our society because many people are walking around with guns, knives, butcher knives, razors, and more weapons which is causing them to harm others. Not only are they’re carrying around with weapons, but with drugs too and that shouldn’t be allowed to do. Stop & Frisk would really help a lot and will make a difference in lowering down crime rates if cops were to pat down people and look through people’s bags all the time. That’s the way officers should make their arrests if Stop & Frisk was still present. All of the crimes that are happening now can be prevented if we would have cops check people’s stuff. I don’t feel like it’s violating citizens rights because it’s the only the right way to prevent from people getting stabbed, murdered, robbed, and all of the above. I would understand if people’s rights are getting violated if they were getting touched in an appropriate manner or the use of force was involved when stopping and frisking a person. Police officers abuse their power way too much and they feel like they can commit any act they want because they’re cops and they can get away with it. Not all the time they will get away with what they did because it will either be recorded on video, their partner will go against them and say something, pictures will be proven, or reports will be made to the local precinct. They feel like they can overcome their power by using it on us but they got it misconstrued. They should be trained all over again and learn to RESPECT the people that live around their environment. Police officers should be a reflection on how people should view them as and they are members of the law enforcement that should act in a civil manner without causing so much riot in the communities. As a result, they have privileges that they take for granted and they shouldn’t jeopardize it by doing something so stupid that will make them lose their job or get time in jail/prison. Of course we need the police institution to have our nation and people under control, but we can’t continue to tolerate their bad behavior on people and making the society more dangerous that it already is. Our society should be more safe and humble by cops, not chaos and rude actions from them.
Jose Perez says
After reading this my thoughts stay the same on how people treat one another whether its cops or people of different race or gender. It is clear that there is still racism amongst one another and that is the big dilemma. In the article it talks a lot about people of different races and cops being violent against them. I believe that we should all treat each other with respect and should try and not be so close minded about other people’s thoughts. I believe we all deserve to be treated equally no matter if you wear a blue uniform or if you are just another regular civilian on the street. I also believe that it isn’t okay for a cop to shoot an unarmed individual if they are running away. There are other ways of stopping the suspect from running like calling for back up. I also believe that cops try to stay in areas where there is high crime due to their limited amount of resources at hand. It may also depend on the cop, if they decide to target one race more than others I find that wrong.
Arthur Barnes says
What do you think about police tactics like “Stop and Frisk?” and tactics that target political protestors? Do you think these tactics violate a person’s basic civil rights? Do they make you feel safe or threatened?
I think that police tactics like stop and frisk are only made to target people of color. Tactics like this are equally enforced if you were to put a crime prevention strategy in place wouldn’t it be for everybody. The police go into these poor communities of color enforcing these tactics by stopping people for petty things and pick them apart until they find something. Brutal tactics enforced on political protestors are only used because the government doesn’t like it when people protest against them but protesting is our constitutional right so as being secure in your persons and treated equally but to the government that doesn’t matter.
Shanetta Frank says
Do I think it’s okay for a police officer to shoot an unarmed individual? HELL NO! When they could tell me the ways that that unarmed individual can be more harmful than a police officer’s gun and taser then I will consider it slightly being maybe possibly justifiable. Other than that, please stop with the b.s! I am not even going to bring race into this issue, even though in recent years the shooting of unarmed black men have taken the stage front and center. No matter an individual’s race, gender, or sexual orientation, no one deserves to be shot just because they “wouldn’t stop running.” They’re numerous other options to subdue an individual that wouldn’t cause their death. If you must shoot then why not shoot to injury instead of shooting to kill.
This once again brings up the issue of excessive force by police officers. Why are they becoming so militant? Our police officers are losing the trust of the people in the communities, but it doesn’t bother them because they are gaining the trust of the “others”, those big spenders that made numerous donations to police organizations. But they aren’t the ones whose trust they need. Those are not the ones whose communities most of them are doing foot patrols on. More trust equals a longer life for police officers in dangerous areas.
Hennesey Bautista says
Our society now is constantly surrounded with phone; cameras because of how popular media is. Media has come to our favor a lot, because if it wasn’t for it a lot of cases will remain unsolved or quiet. I remember when the public wasn’t allowed to record videos of police officers especially if they where doing something the public though was unfair. About 3-4 years ago cops used to break peoples phone if they caught you recording or sometimes ask for them to be put away. Now they have no control over that, the police officers are a hot topic because of all the brutality the first thing the public does it record when they feel a situation is about to get hectic. I think media can sometimes broadcast wrong things or put others to shame, but overall its because of the recordings and media uploads that a lot of justice has been served.
Hennesey Bautista says
As long as STATS exist of course police are going to focus more in those areas where crimes occurs more. Police officers have numbers to make each month, and if they don’t they don’t receive any promotions, etc. Focusing in high crime areas makes it easy for police officers to make their numbers because the chances of them finding a crime is really high. These high crime areas are the areas where the less fortunate live so they do things even if its illegal to survive, not saying that in the richer areas there isn’t crime going on. the crime is still happening its just not in plain view because they don’t have to stand in the corner of their neighborhood selling anything because they have the money. instead of trying to bash and stereotype minorities how about helping them.
Niyah-Alise Bradberry says
I’m against the tactic of stop-and-frisk. I think no one deserves to be humiliated in that way. Although there are a lot of criminals in New York, the innocent majority are stopped on behalf of other criminals.I think that most people being stopped and frisked are either innocent or have drugs not real criminals. If the tactic proves to be really efficient in reducing the number of homicides and killings, then it should be conducted in a polite and fair manner, without any racist behavior. Yes I do believe these tactics violates a persons civil rights. Specifically it violates the fourth amendment. The fourth amendment is a persons right to any unreasonable searches and seizures. The stop and frisk violates that amendment by selecting certain people who fit the description of a “criminal”. The polices searches become unreasonable when they are selecting certain people to search. These tactics definitely make me feel unsafe because if I look in any way suspicious I can be searched down just because an officer feels like it. I do not like being criminalized or looked at like a bad person because of where I live and how I look or dress. I feel as though another tactic could be used to decrease the crime rate.
Cristina Marcial says
There have been many incident in Ferguson of police abuse, but one case went viral and the slogan hands up don’t shoot. Michael brown this shooting provoked protests that roiled the area for weeks. There are more young black teens getting killed than anything and people are tired of seeing there people dying every day buy officials. Police really don’t care if what they are doing is unlawful they want to be in charge listen to them or get what’s coming. There are many ways to stop a person from running away such as a Taser gun, shooting should have been the last option. I strongly believe that police profile more to the minorities since the likely hood of busting someone is real high.
Charianny Rosario says
I agree that police purposely target some groups of individuals, however, these groups of people are the ones that are involved in criminal activities. it is justified to stop and frisk a person in the areas where the most crimes are being committed as this prevents future crimes from taking place. Most people take offense to these preventive police procedures as they feel those being targeted are not or may not be involved in anything criminal. It is not whether these individuals are criminals or doing something illegal, it is the job of the police to protect the community and take matters into their own hands. Preventive procedures are necessary when it comes to crimes as they can prevent many deaths and criminal activities.
Charianny Rosario says
I agree that police purposely target some groups of individuals, however, these groups of people are the ones that are involved in criminal activities. it is justified to stop and frisk a person in the areas where the most crimes are being committed as this prevents future crimes from taking place. Most people take offense to these preventive police procedures as they feel those being targeted are not or may not be involved in anything criminal. It is not whether these individuals are criminals or doing something illegal, it is the job of the police to protect the community and take matters into their own hands.
Yesica Mayancela says
There is a lot of terrible things that is happening in this society, that should not be happening, few of those things are police officers shooting innocent people who end up running away. This is not okay because if a person is unarmed and they are running away they do not have the right to shoot a innocent unarmed person just because they are running away. Police offers should chase people, taser people, or even pepper spray a person if they are running away, not kill. Another thing police officers are so use to doing is threatening an individual with no reason. This is not right because they should not believe they have the right to do that just because they are a police officer and they have a badge to scare individuals away. Stop and frisk and attacking political protesters is not right because police officers only do it due to a person’s racial group, how they carry their selves, etc. This does not make me feel safe. It makes me feel threaten because I do not know when a police officer will stop me just because of the racial group I belong to. I also do believe police officers unfairly profile most people than others because I have witnessed police officers only focus on African Americans and Hispanics. These two racial groups are the only two racial groups who are getting arrested, in jail, and stop and frisking. I do not believe because of my views I look at police offers in general very different and as if they were evil. They draw their own picture and this is how people see them. I do not believe all police officers are cruel but there are a lot of cruel police officers out there doing their job. I believe the same experience I had with police officers are the same experiences a lot of people go through, it is not only a small group. It is true that police officers on the job may not treat a lot of people with the respect they deserve but there is always a way to approach a person and not to certain things because of how they present themselves. Although, the government believes it is a good idea that listen to our conversation and give us no privacy, I believe it is a good idea just in case something happens but I also believe they will not be there if something does happen. They will probably take their time on arriving to the crime scene. I believe social policy contributed to the hyperghettoization by putting more police officers in certain neighborhood/ towns just to prevent anything from happening.
Joseph Yi says
Do you think it’s okay for a police officer to shoot an unarmed individual if they don’t stop running away?
I don’t think its right for a police officer to shoot an unarmed individual who is running away. The police officers should come up with a better way of handling things. Especially since the individual is unarmed and alone. I think its pathetic that police officers could not handle a situation in an orderly manner when they have all the tools they need.
Do you think the police unfairly profile some groups of people more than others? Or are they merely focusing limited police resources on high crime areas?
Yes, I think police do unfairly profile some people by the way they dress and present themselves. For example if you saw a person sleeping in a subway and that person looked dirty, no one would want to sit next to that person. In the same way, I think the police look at people and try to identify them by what they wear and by their behavior also color of skin may play a role. And because poorer neighborhoods are easier targets, police officers unfairly profile those people and as a result those people hate cops. I have learned that even the types of clothes you wear can change the outcome with the way you interact., both going hand in hand. Because I have a friend and he is also the same ethnicity as I am but he would get stopped and frisked a couple of times. It was also the crowd he hung out with but most of the time it was because of the way he dressed, he would wear all black clothes like a robber and he told me that he was alone when it had happened. So what information could the police have when my friend hasn’t been convicted of a crime and that lead me to believe that it was because of the way he dressed.
Aisha Valerio says
Ferguson police could’ve handled the situation better. The role of a police officer is to control the situation before escalating an altercation. lets include the officer was Caucasian but the majority of Ferguson county police is 98% . Yes, Michael was unarmed and didn’t obey the police, but in all reality he was no threat to get his life taken away. The people of Ferguson felt that this was cruel and showed it by causing riots and fires to show their true emotions towards this “Race War”. I believe that if the officer was well trained and had no bias towards this African American male Michael will still be alive and the officer would’ve saved all the destruction that he caused for handling the situation wrongfully.
Simone Brown says
This was one of the best articles ever because its exactly what’s wrong with the system today. whatever happen to take out whatever weapons you have? put your hands up? walk slowly to us? when did these questions come to an end , how is it that people are being shot along with following orders because not all situations have to do with victims well suspected victims running away. There was never a right time to just shoot a person because of what you believe is right, if a victim is running away then let them run because if there’s enough police and they have little radios where they can radio each other and let other policemen know the direction of where this suspected person is running. The police force is lacking their communicating skills because each officer feels that they can do whatever they feel is right at the moment instead what they know is right and as other police officers watch other police officers shoot and kill innocent people and get away with it why would they care to follow rules because they’re basically getting away with murder!!!
Edda Rivera says
Shooting an unarmed individual that wont stop running away, is pointless,senseless and brutal. First do No harm; what ever happen to that? Is getting a higher rank or a quota met more important then common decency and human lives? I don’t feel its ok at all for a police officer to shoot someone unarmed that’s running away, run after them. As a police officer they are in no danger so why shoot at all? There is no harm on their life. The only issue here is that they are running away and you need to catch them. Since when is it ok to shoot someone down that’s no threat at all. Walter Scott for examples didn’t deserve it and was totally uncalled for. Then the cop was caught setting up his story on camera and heard on dispatch. This is Inhumane and uncaring, excessive and unnecessary. If I was a police officer I wouldn’t draw my gun unless it was truly necessary. I would have to put the pedal to medal and give chase. Shooting an unarmed individual just giving chase in my opinion is lazy and unjust.
Patrice says
Do you think it’s okay for a police officer to shoot an unarmed individual if they don’t stop running away?
I do not believe police officers should shoot an unarmed individual if they don’t stop running. There should be other alternatives other than shooting a person that is running away. What ever happen to tasers or if you shoot it’s not too kill. It seems as though police officers model is to shoot to kill. Maybe in certain situations you have no chose but every incident that occurred it happen to be an unarmed black man getting killed by a police officer with no real criminal reason.
Alina Sarkisyan says
Militarization of the police seemed appropriate for war, but not peace. After 9/11 the community based policing switched to a heavily armed one, who’s focus is to keep an order. Highly patrolled areas are the poor neighborhoods with higher levels of crime. Petty crimes get harsh sentences, three-strike law “rules out” the youth from having a second chance. Another Ferguson created. I think the best way to reduce crime is not to fund the militarization of police, but to improve the schools and neighborhoods. It is proven that after school activities allow the youth to stay out of trouble, since it reduces the leisure time. What if Ferguson had more parks, after school activities and better free education? I guarantee that would solve most of the problems, and we would never experience similar situation again. We need police, but one that serves and protects everyone.
Jascenth Harriott says
The injustice that occurred in Ferguson infuriated many people up to this day. What happened to Micheal Brown did not only impacted the Brown family, but myself who felt that it was done out of racism, since there has not been any logical reason for the death of an unarmed young man except, for the fact that he was an African American in the suburb. The aftermath results in a number of protesters dressed in “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot,” and was shocking after I herd about it almost two years ago, mainly because Michael Brown last words were “Don’t Shoot! which seems like he gave the officer a warning that he was unarmed and was not resisting arrest. Yet, he was executed by a white police officers who are supposed to serve and protect, not takes the life of an innocent human being. Regardless of someone’s race or gender, that does not make it acceptable. The institution needs correction, because it does not make any sense trying to deter crimes, but those who are supposed to play a role in doing so, are taking the lives of many innocent people and not get indicted, which only causes resentments due to lack of governing. As an African American, it’s terrifying to know that, that can happen to me or someone of the same race and nothing will be done, if that’s the case, then who can we really depend on?
Ana Bajlo says
I think its extremely wrong for a police officer to shoot an unarmed individual if they don’t stop running away. Just because the person is running away does not mean they have the right to shoot them. Police officers should be helping and protecting individuals, not injuring them and or killing them. In this situation It was unnecessary to shoot. They aren’t threatening the police officer, which is why they didn’t have the right to shoot the person unless their life was at stake. The police officer could have used something else other than a gun , for example a taser, which would have stopped the person from running away.
Dahsia Williams says
Do you think it’s okay for a police officer to shoot an unarmed individual if they don’t stop running away?
In my opinion, I do not think it is okay for a police officer to shoot an unarmed individual if they don’t stop running away because police officers today are not shooting to stop the individual they are more likely to shoot you for you to be seriously injured or to be pronounced dead. Police officers are to follow prodigal but they choose to disobey. Once they make a mistake the department will automatic try and cover up what they have done. For example, the incident where sean bell was shot to death on the day before his wedding which of course were white police officers. The justice system is all wrong because the police officers always tend to be let go.
kelly sexton says
I believe that instead of shooting an unarmed alleged suspect while is running away, the policeman should use discretion as to the method needed to apprehend the suspect. I believe that the “Stop and Frisk” policy has not accomplished what it was set out to do. The crime rate has risen 11% and only 3% of Stop and Frisk cases had gun charges that were prosecuted. The people that are being stopped are claiming that their 4th Amendment and Civil rights are being violated. I also feel that during the protests there was very little show of violence – yet when the protestors sat down and were being detained by the Police they were pepper-sprayed in the face and had to be subjected to the bad discretion of one Police officer. And again, the taxpayers had to foot the bill for the actions of one callous Police officer.
Morayma Diaz says
If a person is unarmed and is running away, a police officer should NOT shoot him. The police officer wasn’t threatened. So why would he shoot? No one deserves to die when unarmed, esspecially if the person had no intention of hurting anyone. Threatening someone without justifiable cause should not occur either. Sometimes, police officers take advantage of their power and try to be in control. They take it to the next level by threatening someone only because they think they can and because most of the time, they get away with it.
Magaly Gonzalez Hernandez says
I don’t think it’s okay for a police officer to shoot an unarmed individual if they don’t stop running away. I think this because the person who is running away doesn’t deserve to get injured by the cops. If the police officer shoots wrong which, in parts has happened in where people have died in the hands of police officers. The person is unarmed so they won’t be able to do anything to harm the police officer. I would just suggest to run after the person but to don’t shoot. But if the person has a weapon then that’s a different situation. The unarmed individual shouldn’t be running away from the cops in the first place. But still the person isn’t suppose to get shot by the police officer. The police officer needs to do there job the correct way in which means to don’t injure an unarmed individual because it’s not right to do.
Corinda Clemens says
“What do you think about police tactics like ‘Stop and Frisk?” Do you think these tactics violate a person’s basic civil rights? Do they make you feel safe or threatened”?
I don’t approve of the tactic, “stop and frisk”, when people are being violently treated with no due cause. I believe it is a major violation to human civil rights. Police should only be allowed to stop and frisk others if there is due reason. And simply not because the color of someones skin, hair, or style of dress.Lately,there has been manyAfrican Americans,last year alone, that has experienced this type of injustice. This type of stereotyping has become more and more popular among the African American community. This day and age, African Americans have to be skeptical about walking in a predominately white neighborhood, wearing a hoody, or even sporting dreads in fear of being improperly handled by not only police, but by civilians of the opposite race.In a country that claims “freedom for all” is a slogan used as a facade to hide the brutality that us, Africans Americans face.
Katy Sandler says
I have not had the “pleasure” of interacting with police officials based on some preconceived notion. Being an upper middle class, white, woman, I am not judged walking down a sidewalk. My interaction with police has been mundane comparative to others of different demographic indicators of social identity.
I would like to hope that this does not occur in our own backyard but this is just not the case, and to have blinders on would be highly naïve. I do not know how to be critical of such horrific injustices, partly because I have never witnessed such a case or have experienced these interactions myself. I believe that these occurrences will continue until we rectify the systemic problems that plague our social “order”.
Brandon Chambers says
This article makes very good point and displays how blacks are really getting fed up with being mistreated by police officers and them getting away with it. African Americans are refusing to be ignored and want this to stop where cops can kill unarmed African Americans are being killed by cops. I agree with the article but I feels blacks are making it easy for the government to keep up this “shoot first” attitude by rioting and our mentality in a lot of situations like selling drugs and robbing. I feel that if we want to make a change we have to be the change we want to see by getting a good education and bettering ourselves.
Alanna Henry says
When the word “police” comes into play, we’re supposed to feel protected, unharmed, and secure. Police have not been living up to their name. It’s so unfortunate that many African American males have to live in fear of their lives when it comes to being approached by police; they don’t know if it’s a simple stop and frisk, police brutality, or a gunshot wound to the head. Many African American males have been stopped due to racial profiling and now they are threatened with these senseless killings. I don’t see how unarmed blacks pose a threat to society. It was unjust and very tragic that Mike Brown’s life was taken with no remorse, no sympathy. Protesters have done the “Hands up, Don’t Shoot” in recognition for Mike Brown. My only hope is that police are listening. But some things may not ever change…
Dameon Watson says
No, I do not think it is okay for an officer to shot someone who decides to flee, nor does our government. That’s why there are additional charges that can be use against someone who attempt to flee from law enforcement. In additions to charges every law enforcement agency must send their potential candidates to an academy were they are taught laws they must adhere to as well as put thru many strength and cardio qualifications. Unfortunately, in New Jersey, none of our police officers have to qualify physically ever again after graduating the academy. They must only qualify twice a year to use their firearms. Only the New Jersey State Troopers require both annual firearms and physical qualifications test. As a result I believe many officers could be resorting to guns to stop or apprehend someone because physically they are not able to engage in a foot pursuit.
I also do not believe officers or prosecutors should threatening people to get information out of them. As humans, we tend to be rational thinkers. I have read many studies were people have falsely accused someone of doing a crime because they were forces to say something or be put in prison themselves. Sadly there are many cases were people have been innocent, but have accepted plea deals to avoid prison or a harsher sentence. Today the burden of proof has, in some ways, been shifted from the prosecution to now the suspect. The Constitution provides a provision that protects us from self-incrimination. Today if you plead the 5th or choose not to disclose information you are seen as guilty or as a suspect.
Melissa Carella says
I definitely think it is wrong that the police officers are shooting an unarmed citizen. To shoot someone there should be a legitimate reason. Although I do think it is tough for the police officers to make the decision to shoot or not because sometimes although we all look at police officers as the bad guys, they are there to protect themselves and those around them. police officers carry a gun for a reason. They need to protect themselves and make sure they are not putting anyone around them in danger as to themselves. Maybe they felt threatened that the person had a weapon on them, but if they do not feel threatened of course they should not shoot. If a citizen is not doing anything wrong the police I feel that they should not be wanting to check up on you. It isn’t right because they should only be doing that to those who are not following the law and doing illegal things, not those who are doing everything right. In my town the police officers are extremely racist and definitely pull over anyone who is black. This is horrible and cruel and I cannot stand that they do this. These people are not even speeding or anything and they get pulled over as soon as they enter my town. Many police officers who do not follow their rules in the right way do not get punished for it, they just all forget it happened. I feel this isn’t right and definitely needs to change.
Tiara Crenshaw says
I do not think it’s fine for a police officer to shoot someone that is unarmed if they do not stop running. I say this because the person may feel like they are being harassed for no reason because they might feel like they didn’t do anything that was so serious for them to be stopped. They may also be nervous that’s why they run away. Police should not just shoot someone unarmed because they are running away because how would they feel if someone they knew or one of their family members got shot because they ran away from the cops. Another thing I found interesting in this article was the cellphone tower. I think this is important because it would b a faster way for a police to get information through a persons text or call log. Also the person may break the phone or give it to someone else before they get caught or whatever else might happen to them. Also the cops will b able to stop something from happening way before it can get to happen. The cellphone towers would help a lot when it comes to people getting shot and robbed for no reason.
christina mahmoud says
I find the events happening in Ferguson very disturbing and racial. Police shouldn’t have the right to shoot without threat or cause to shoot. I absolutely think police profile certain people. Police are supposed to make people feel protected if they’re in harm’s way. Living in Ferguson, these people definitely do not feel protected by any means. They are hurting innocent people without even thinking twice about it. It’s unreal.
Caitlin Jordan says
Do you think the police unfairly profile some groups of people more than others? Or are they merely focusing limited police resources on high crime areas?
Police officers most definitely unfairly profile some groups of people more than others. It is shown on the news and around the United States. In my home town, more minorities get pulled over than whites do. They believe that if you’re a minority, there is a higher chance of you having drugs or weaponry in possession. As a broader topic, security at airports also unfairly profile by the color of one’s skin. Whites are rarely randomly selected at airports, while minorities are almost always randomly selected at airports. They are not just merely focusing limited police resources on high crime areas, because outside of those high crime areas, police are still focused on minorities all around the United States. Yes, there are more resources in high crime areas, but police everywhere are still have biases on minorities.
pearlina griffiths says
Yes , the police officers are biased the way they profile people. often times people of color are confronted more often than any other race.There is no reason other than that they are black,, and it seems like every black person is always a suspect. That is very pathetic.Racial profiling is really a national problem and at some point The ACLU (AMERICAN Civil Liberties Union) had a campaign against racial profiling. Law enforcement officers disproportionately targets people of color. It was noted that Boston police”have a racially biased police problem for 8 policemen fired 46 times at a lady,s son.The son was mentally ill and he was holding a pen kit.The mother posted a video on racial disparity in the US Criminal Justice before the inter American Commission on Human rights,That is part of the American States.
Adriana Bertino says
After reading this, my blood was boiling. This is exactly what is happening and its is just being ignored. I do not think its okay for a police office to shoot at an unarmed person if they are running away. There should be some other way, thats less harmful, let alone something that can kill someone. Police tend to threaten people because they feel they have so much power over everyone else who is not in the police force. I think its unfair to threaten someone with out cause. I think “stop and frisk” is okay when the time is right, which would be in a town with a lot of crime, or dangerous activities. I do not think that it should happen anywhere to anyone. On to the topic about personal privacy it really does bother me. I feel like now a days nothing is personal anymore and its just invasion of privacy. I feel really disturbed by this and it kind of makes me just not have a cell phone anymore or any connection to something that can be traced but like mentioned in a pervious class, your tracked everywhere, in places such as your ez pass, which I also did not know.
Dawid Tokarz says
Police should not use weapons as the first resort whenever they deal with a problem, especially if there is an unarmed civilian. However if there is someone fleeing from the police, the officer should carry a harmless taser gun and fire it at the escapee. This is not a violent approach, yet it helps deal with problems and would most likely be safer than having a wound from a gun shot. Police often do stupid things to show that they have power such as threatening an individual with a possible arrest without a good cause, which to me sounds redicelous. Those officers who do so, want to keep some of the protesters, or people with their own opinions quiet so they threaten them. I think that the “Stop and Frisk” and other tactics that police use are mostly unneaded; they do it once again to regain control over people so that they do not carry any substances on them but they violate their rights by doing so. These tactics surley make people feel threatened; however those who do not think about it and that it did not happen to, think that these tactics are a great way to keep our community a safe place so they end up supporting it. I think that although police does unfairly profile some groups of people such as the blacks or the latino, not all of them are terrible people. Those who end up doing crimes such as selling drugs or such maybe do it because they have no way of getting a regular job and have a family to feed. For me, it is different since I am a caucasian so police does not treat me or other people as harsh, however I noticed these things happening and mention police violence to others who seem unaware of it so that they could realize what a threat it is becoming. For me I cannot reflect on having to deal with the police personaly, other than when my family had gotten a ticket for driving but the cops could have nulified some of them, since they were not as serious; yet, they chose to write them out for the stupidest reasons such as not having a seatbelt on in the passanger seat. Most of the officers would rather write you a ticket than have to hear out what you have to say. I think that the system does not operate the same for everyone, since females or minorities have always been treated differently in the eyes of the police force.
The idea of having police monitored and recorded could stop some police violence which would be a step in the right direction. On the other hand, it bothers me that the government along with the NSA have the power to monitor our every move, and read our messages through cyberspace. It is also scary that they are able to track where who is at a certain time in some places. This could lead to lack of privacy, which we all have a need of. Lastly, social policy has created ghettos in many American urbanilized communities and it is a terrible idea to deal with their poverty problems. It is like putting all problems into one, where as they wont solve themselves
Nicole Coultas says
I find what is going on in Ferguson extremely disturbing and sad. The way the police force there is reacting to what is happening there is only hurting the community more and adding to the frustration, anger, and even hatred that must be felt among the citizens there. I think the important point that Professor Trappen made is that this is not an isolated incident and that there are many Fergusons. This is not just bad town with bad people living in it but it is the result of an institutional and nation-wide issue that is extremely severe and not even seen or acknowledged by much of the country. Another important point that Professor Trappen made was that social identities play a major role in determining how people understand what has happened in these situations. I personally don’t hear about these situations in my personal life and the town that I live in because people don’t care about what is happening outside of their bubble. They aren’t angered by it because they don’t know or don’t care that its happening; they don’t ever see it and so it doesn’t affect them. Or people who do know about it don’t see it as a large-scale national issue, but one of that town and its residents. When we look at the history of the treatment of African-Americans in Ferguson (among other places) how can we even begin to feel that it is their fault that they are reacting so strongly? When reading this article I was shocked by the fact that black teenagers are 21 times as likely to be killed by police as are white teenagers. There is no way to read this statistic and not see that there is a core issue that is unfolding throughout our country and being dealt with inappropriately – and in my opinion illegally – by our militarized police forces. Although I benefit from privilege by being a white person living in suburbia, I can clearly see that the system we have in place does not even remotely operate the same for everyone, and I think that should be obvious to other people who are as lucky as I, but it somehow isn’t.
Amalia Chasmar says
I don’t think it is okay for police to shoot anyone unless they pose a threat to officers or citizens. If a person is running away from an officer, yes, it is their job to stop them but they don’t have to shoot them. There are other ways to stop a person when they are running away; like a stun-gun, taser, or even pepper spray. Threatening an individual with arrest with unjustifiable cause is an abuse of power. Police officers may threaten someone with arrest because they believe that they have power over that person. Maybe in that moment they have more power because they’re the ones with handcuffs and a gun; but legally, it is unfair. The police tactic of “Stop and Frisk” should only be used when there is actual probable cause. There are too many instances in which police stop individuals on the street because they “think” they are up to something. Police tactics that target political protestors can be unfair and violent. It is a persons right to freedom of speech and they are allowed to protest. If the protestors become violent and threatening, that is when police should use force to stop them. This treatment of people makes me feel threatened because we as citizens are allowed rights, and this kind of police treatment is in a way destroying those rights. It’s almost like in contact with police in some instances, our rights become latent and we are not allowed a voice.
Police definitely target certain races. In the reading it states that African Americans are 21 times more likely to be shot by police than white people. Black people aren’t the only ones committing crimes in America!! My own social positioning is white middle class. The only real contact I have with police is when I am crossing a street or getting pulled over. I still see and read about things that go on between police officers and other people in different social positioning and it influences my views of law enforcement in a negative way. I am actually friends with a police officer and since he has become an officer, his head has gotten so big. He literally thinks because he is a police officer, he can do whatever he wants and get away with it. I do believe that that is how a lot of officers view their job–as a free for all. I do believe that police everywhere think they can do anything they want. Not all police, but definitely some in every neighborhood. I am critical that the system does not operate the same for everyone and I think it is unfair. The proliferation of cameras is opening the eyes of people everywhere to police activity. I think it is definitely having an impact on viewers because they now get to see what is actually going on first hand in their own country.
I am very skeptical about how my personal privacy is not secure. Sometimes I feel like by tracking everyones movements, it is keeping me safe, but other times I feel like its a huge invasion of privacy. Social policy in the United States has contributed to ghettoization and hyper ghettoization because it is unfair. Even though there are laws saying every race is equal, not everyone follows them. In the reading about stealing the potato chips, the kid who stole them did it to prove a point and get respect that he wasn’t given before. I don’t think gaining respect is the whole reason for ghettoization, but it is definitely a contributing factor.
Jonathan Rodriguez says
I don’t think no cop should shoot anyone unarmed that was running. Last time I checked weren’t they trained to take a person down. And if a police plans to shoot someone, should it shoot to kill. Why not just injure them versus kill them? If an officer doesn’t have a reason to arrest someone, they should not be threatened to be arrested. It seems as if they want to confess to something they never committed. I feel that police both focuses on both certain groups of people and high crime areas. They feel these group of people look or resemble a previous case. And high crime areas make it more of a job for them to arrest people and shoot people. Which at the end of the day they highly enjoy, which is sick. The things that many of these police officers do is disgusting. Makes you wonder what forces drives them to behave as animals. They want to protect and serve, but If I say so myself. It seems as if us as people or trying to protect ourselves from them and they are serving their own purposes and personal vendettas. I feel many police officers are very one sided and don’t see things from a larger perspective. They can let so many people go but they choose not to. It is very sad when you think about it.
Coral Buckel says
Police officers defintiely overuse their power because they know they can get away with it. I do not think it is right for a police officer to shoot, or beat up someone based on their race, or social class. Unfortunately, they do it anyway. Police officers definitely profile certain types of people unfairly based on their race, gender, and their surroundings. Just because someone is different than you does not mean they are bad, despite what the other people in their group are like. It is getting out of control and no one is really doing anything to stop it. With everything going on in Ferguson and the killing of Brown, is uncalled for. The fact that majority of that community is African American and majority of the cops are White shows that it is clearly a race issue. These White police officers are treating these people like criminals. Cops like this who think they are superior to everyone and can do whatever they want are the reasons why people in Ferguson and other areas can’t get their voice heard. No community should ever have to live their life in fear by people who are suppose to protect us, not hurt us.
Then there is the whole thing about privacy. These “cell site simulators” that pretend to be cellphone towers are a scary thing. I don’t like knowing that everything on my phone can be seen and read by security and the government. I feel like there is no such thing as privacy anymore. In today’s world people can pretty much find out anything about anyone as long as they have the right technology and connections. It is not right that innocent people who are just walking by are getting their cellphone data passed through databases when they may not have a criminal record, or have anything to do with what the government and police are looking for.
Yesenia Estevez says
I don’t think that it is right for a police officer to shoot and unarmed person. There should be a lights ate reason for shooting someone. And lately when officers are asked this question it is usually for no reason. Also, ( not to be on the cops side) now a days anyone can have a gun, and for people on the street killing an officer is something looked up on. Even if someone does not want to stop running they should not be shot because of that. Because in my opinion the officer is not being threatened by someone running. I have mixed feelings about stop and frisk. I don’t think that it is messes are a bad thing. Most people get frisked in neighborhoods that are dangerous and a lot of illegal activity going on so this is a way to keep the community safe. Honestly if u are doing nothing wrong why not let the police check you up. I do understand when people say that it goes against their right but… We have to find a way to keep people safe. I do think the police unfairly profile groups of people but honestly they way these people act is why they get profiled. These groups puts it on themselves. I love that we can video everything that goes on on a daily basis. Now the police that are not following the law can actually get in trouble in stead of shoving it under the rug. But when there are people that can monitor what I do online or listen to what I’m talking about on the phone bothers me.
Khady Dioume says
Through the years there have been incidents implying overt discrimination of the police force towards African Americans. I don’t know whether these discriminate became more obvious because of new technology innovations or there is an increase violence with the police force. The perplexing part is that these officers are never properly criminator for their unjustly actions towards civilians ,specifically, Blacks. It seems as if the police is allowed to kill anyone and use self defence as an ably. The second unjustly act of the police force is the use of Army weapons or tools toward civilians. However, this is more the government fault because they are the ones giving them the weapons. This act just condones more violence between the police force and the people. The police was designated to kill enemies, its purpose is to protect the people.
Kate Dawson says
I think the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson triggered a situation that not many people were aware of. More specifically triggered national attention to an issue that maybe unless you were a minority, they weren’t aware of. We’ve seen the shooting of Trayvon Martin in recent years so the killing of a young black man isn’t new, but the killing of a young black man who was unarmed by a police officer is worthy of national news. The fact that police can become more aggressive with their tactics go unnoticed. Only when police kill a person, come out with machine guns and tanks are people starting to car. What that says is police live behind a blue line and no one is allowed to know what happens or how they act internally. It’s secretive, and sadly, not many people care. Mostly because police are supposed to protect us. I’m sure many people think thay criminals have been able to get their hands on more weapons and more dangerous weapons so that’s why policy officers need them. How else are they supposed to match a criminal with an AK-47? The only thing is most criminals don’t have machine guns. The police have a direct pipeline to military grade, deadly weapons. That’s a scary thing. I don’t think weapons, military weapons, give the police more power than they should. Bottom line is police are to protect and serve the people. Not by policing us as an army. Personally I don’t have much experience of being stopped by a police officer. Probably because I’m a white female but I don’t doubt for a minute that some police forces can take the law into their own hands and get away with it.
Amanda Medina says
In my opinion I believe that the police have gotten out of control because of the power they hold. They are supported with everything they do so this is what makes them feel that they can get away with things. I don’t think that a police officer should be able to shoot any one unless their life is in actual danger, and not if they think their life is in danger. How can someone who is unarmed and running away be a threat to your life? I barely run into much conflict with the police but the things that I have heard and seen on social media is enough evidence to me. The system definitely does not operate the same way for everyone as we can see in the difference in the number of deaths between African American and White teens. Just this morning as i was walking down the street I witnessed two white cops screaming and yelling at African American teens taking a group picture is front of a bus stop as if they were animals. From what I am aware of you have every right stand on public property, why should you have to yell at the top of your lungs demanding that they move. What were they doing wrong?
Ivonna Turner says
Hundreds of thousands of innocent people are stopped, interrogated and embarrassed by the police. These people can be just going home, leaving school or work. The stop and frisk is overt racism and wrongfully profiling. In my opinion it criminalizes our youth and creates distrust between the community with the police. It doesn’t keep us safer.
Josephine Hong says
I couldn’t agree with you more. It’s all racial profiling, depending on what town you live in and what color you are. In this case and several others over the year shown in the media allows people to see how wrongly the police are profiling and using their weapons. But these incidents happened more often than we think, we just don’t hear about them as often. The boy was unarmed and was not attacking the officer by any means, was 6 bullets and killing him necessary? If he was running away, the officer could have just shot him in the leg. Better yet, chase after him and take him down. This reminds me of the article we read from Balko. Maybe if the officers were in better shape and trained to use nonviolent (psychological) strategies before pulling out the gun, these cases will occur less. The T-shirt “Darren Wilson 6” is absolutely disturbing. What he has done is bad enough, now people are going to walk around wear T-shirts supporting the officer? If anything, the officer and his department should be apologizing for the boy’s death and how it went down – being a bit sympathetic? How disrespectful to Ferguson and his family.
Akalia Joseph says
In my community, East New York, there is a perception that the police always target Black men. On the news, it is portrayed that black males are the majority offenders of crimes. Then again, the media only shows half the truth. Often, I see black males being stop and frisked out of nowhere. I feel like their civil rights are being violated because often, when black male often try to inquire about what they had done wrong. In most cases, the officers usually get more aggressive. I remember my friend once told me he was around his neighborhood with friends chatting, when two policemen came through his gate to do a stop and frisk. They were aggressive and didn’t explain why they targeted them. My friend said the officers told them to shut up and they could do what they want and if they don’t obey, they will take them in. So they just obeyed and made a report against officers but nothing came off it. It is just upsetting the power the police have and how they abuse it. They feel they can get away with anything and sadly, most of the time it is true. We have the power of freedom of speech yet an abundance of people get arrested just saying how they feel.
Jasvir Kaur says
Many police officers shoot individuals that are unarmed when they try to run away. It is not always necessary for a police officer to shoot the individual because they can easily be caught if they are on foot. If the person is unarmed they are not a big threat and can be caught without having to shoot.Cops should not also threaten individuals without justifying the reason. You can not just threaten someone for no reason. It shows that these cops are just trying to show the people that they are capable of doing anything because of their position. A person needs reasonable cause to question any individual. I feel that “Stop and frisk” tactics are not very helpful. In sone cases they can be helpful, where actually guns or weapons are found during searches. otherwise, I feel that cops are reacist when doing thesee tactics. There are cases where they will search a certain arc more or a certain gender.I do not have many experiences with the polio but I have seen many eople who have these experienced. I used to live in Jamaica, Queens and have seen all kinds of encounters people had with the police. There are some police officers that are nice and some people that are discriminative. Cameras play a huge role in todays world of crimes. Most of the comes that take place and police encounters are recorded on videotapes. These video tapes help us determine what really happened and if the police officer behaved the right way or not. it changes the way people look at the police. It opens up their eyes. It does not bother me that these cameras affect my personal privacy as long as it is able to help criminals that commit crimes and try to run away. As long as these cameras are there for a good purpose , it should not be a question of invading privacy. It is not like these cameras are in your homes or your bathroom. There is no question of privacy in a public place.
Katrina Harper says
I really do not think that it is ok to shoot an unarmed person. On the other hand if it were Jeffrey Dahmer running and chewing on a body part, might be another answer to that. Cops are cowards with power they are protected by the law, i do think that it is immoral and unjust to threaten someone without a justifiable cause. I don’t think that it is just to stop and frisk anyone without proper eyewitness probable cause. I saw old ladies being stopped and frisked, the same way i saw old ladies on the news for bank robberies, it is unsafe and threatening to just go around stopping any and everyone of any color or age. I do not mind surveillance cameras everywhere as long as it does not come into my household, into public restrooms or that nature. im afraid to be on my computer at times that is why i try to watch what i say on the internet and on my phone.
Priyah R. says
It bothers me that our background or identity is not private at all on the internet. The government has devised a system in which they can profit from and monitor people’s information as well as tracking them. In the law field, attorneys can easyly see where you are just base upon a post one makes or how long a client is at a specific location (GPS) and who’s within their network. This eventually leads to people not being safe, anywhere.
Priyah Rambaran
Priyah R. says
Dear students:
It bothers me that our background or identity is not private at all on the internet. The government has devised a system in which they can profit from and monitor people’s information as well as tracking them. In the law field, attorneys can easyly see where you are just base upon a post one makes or how long a client is at a specific location (GPS) and who’s within their network. This eventually leads to people not being safe, anywhere.
Priyah Rambaran
Stephanie Greene says
No I don’t think it’s okay for a police officer to shoot an unarmed individual if they don’t stop running away. The police officer is not threatened in any way by a person running away. Threatening an individual with arrest without justifiable cause is horrible. Police officers have too much power and threatening people with arrest is just another way to have control. I do believe tactics like ” Stop and Frisk” violate. a persons basic civil rights. Police can say anything to justify searching someone and it makes me feel threatened. I know my words can not compete with the words of a cop against me. Of course the police unfairly profile some groups more than others, especially African Americans.
From my past experiences and information given on the news I don’t see cops as protectors. My views of law enforcement are very negative and that’s sad because not all cops are bad. Cameras and other video technology can be used for good and bad, however, it depends on how it’s used. I have always known about police activity from seeing it in my neighborhood, but technology has shed more light on police activity all over the world. It does bother me to know my personal privacy is not secure and my individual movements are being tracked but there is nothing I can do about it, I feel.
Tiffani McCarthy says
I don’t think it’s okay for the police to shoot an unarmed individual. I don’t think the actions of the police officers involved in the events in Ferguson were justified in any way. It’s sad that yet another family is mourning the loss of another young African American male. Occurrences similar to this have began to gain more publicity and it’s about time. While some may criticize others for “jumping on the bandwagon,” this is bringing attention to a serious matter that is generally overlooked by society. Many accuse this generation of lacking in terms of advocating for social change, claiming we are lazy and depend too heavily on social media. Personally, if it weren’t for social media I would have been clueless about Michael Brown. I don’t like to watch the news because I believe they report specific stories releasing only those details they want to bring attention to versus presenting the story in its’ entirety. It’s unfortunate that another life was lost as a result of police violence, but personally I am pleased with the amount of attention the entire ordeal is receiving from society. While it is common for celebrities or influential individuals to comment on situations as such it is inspiring to see people such as Cornel West physically involving himself in an attempt to bring justice.
Desiree Rodriguez says
The Ferguson situation simply just blows my mind. I am totally against plenty of the things that police officers do and get away with. Shooting at an unarmed individual is pretty ridiculous. It just does not and will never make any sense to me. There are so many ways you can “do your job” without taking somebodies life. I understand that if you feel threatened you have the right to do whatever it is to protect yourself however, how threatened do you really feel by someone who is unarmed? Minorities deal with the most nonsense when it comes to police encounters. Its almost like they automatically target us which is totally unfair nor is it right. Sad part is it does not look like things will ever change at least not any time soon.
Alisha Augustin says
Racism is still very real in our societ today. Everything that’s happening in Ferguson is no different from what happened years ago in the south during Jim Crow and the Civil Right Era. Because there hasn’t been any changes it seems like black people will always be treated unfairly. In addition, Laws like “stop and frisk” are stupid because it used as ploy to get minorities into trouble with the law. It seems that way because Stop and Frisk doesn’t happen in predominately white neighborhoods. Furthermore, I believe police officers shouldn’t shoot at a person who’s on the run because many times run away individuals are innocent people running away because of fear from the police.
Joshelyn Vivas says
It is never okay for a police officer to shoot an unarmed individual. We are living in the African- American genocide! This brings everyone back to the slavery year, better yet, the Civil Right years, where African Americans were killed in order to prevent their voices to be heard. Police officers, who are mostly white, have thrown away their duties as “protectors of the people” and become “murderers.” They do whatever it takes to get money in their pockets. This reminds me of certain group of people…the Corporates!
At first, I did not know much of this whole “Ferguson” thing. All I knew was it has to do with a protest in Ferguson, Missouri about African Americans and police brutality. Then I learned about the boy, Michael Brown, who got shot. This goes back to the Trayvon Martin case, where the 17 year old boy got shot in Florida. Killing an innocent individual, who is not threatening anyone, is wrong.
People in today’s society view the African Americans as low class, troublemakers who break laws. Due to these negative views, police use this opportunity to exploit the blacks and diminish them as much as they can with arrests and beatings. How far have they come?
It’s fine to not like a certain race, or be prejudicial. However, it does not give you the right to be biased on the job and start hitting them every chance you get. People have been taught to put their biases aside in order to work with a clear perspective. Looking at the Ferguson situation, the police failed to do so. It brings me shame to call myself an American because of what the police tarnish in almost all of the states.
Maria Adames says
Stop and Frisk is an invasion of privacy. the practice of simply stopping, questioning and searching an individual on the basis of “looking suspicious” is morally and ethically wrong, mostly because it target on Hispanic and African American population. those groups are more likely to be considered” suspect” and be stopped and frisked than any other group. Law enforcement officers can stop and frisk an individual if they have a reasonable cause , one based on specific and articulable facts rather than stereotypes and racism.
Marla Ashwood says
I do not think that it is okay for a police officer to shoot an unarmed individual even if they are running away. The role of a police officer is to protect the public, i don’t think they should raise a gun at an individual because it will raise fear in that individual causing them to want to protect themselves by running away. I think it is ridiculous for a police officer to threaten an individual with arrest if they do not have a justifiable reason, because that is a form of abusing their power. Policies such as stop and frisk are not means to protect individuals it is a way of violating the rights of certain individuals and also a means of bringing in a steady flow of black and latino/a people into the prison system. Stop and Frisk tactics target black and Latino males specifically by degrading them and automatically considering them as criminals because of the way they dress, skin color and their culture. If Stop and Frisk policies were to be performed in neighborhoods that were predominantly white i assure you that the amount of drugs and guns found would be astounding. Police officers not only profile and stereotype people living in urban areas, they concentrate all their efforts in finding criminals in the urban setting. There are crimes being committed in upper class suburban settings but you rarely see police officers hounding and harassing those individuals like they do to individuals that live in the “hood”. My own social positioning, race, culture and experiences leads me to look at police officers in a negative way. I view police officers as people that target individuals that look just like me. It makes me want to avoid them at all costs because they will automatically think of me as a stereotype instead of an individual. I feel that law enforcement will never be in my favor and I am better off avoiding them. I feel like i can be nothing but critical of the law enforcement because I am not just spouting hearsay, or theories, these are my personal experiences,the experiences of people I know, and the experiences of people that look just like me. The way that police officers, and law enforcement treat black people will directly effect me whether I want to accept it or not. I think that the proliferation of cameras and other forms of video technology will only confirm the stories of misconduct on the part of law enforcement and verify the abuse that a lot of people had to endure by the hands of the “bad cops”.
Miriam Cabrera says
I am completely against police officer shooting on unarmed individual. There are so many way for the police office to do their job without recurring to take away someone life if that person do not show any harm to somebody else. I do not believe police officer should use their power to threaten citizen under any circumstances, Police offices should represent the group that protect us and never use their uniform to make us feel afraid. I think police officers follow some specific group according to their race or skin color, but they might not be completely guilty from this action, because we are all in some way socially structured to believe that some group can result more dangerous than others. The use of cameras and others devices are helpful to control and eliminate the police aggressively over individuals.
Andrea Becht says
I absolutely do not believe it is ok for a police officer to shoot an unarmed indivual if they do not stop running away. A part of police officer’s job is to have to unfortunately chase after someone who has committed a crime. Their gun should be their last resort and used only for the protection of themselves of someone else. As it goes, they are not supposed to shoot unless a weapon is seen/pointed at them. Threatening an individual without justifiable cause is also a big no no. It is very unfortunate that police officers use and abuse the authority and power they have in most communities. They prey on people’s fear or them and the legal system; minorities especially. “Stop-and-Frisk” is something I believe started out in order to protect SOCIETY not POLICE. I feel that the potential of stop-and-frisk could have been a positive and successful thing. However, again, police use and abuse this system. They use it to target minorities and often times go around stopping and frisking for no reason. It says something about many individuals who decide to become police officers, if this is the reason they do so. Lacking a feeling of power or control is unfortunately the reason many do become police or correctional officers. To get a respect they have never gotten before in life. I think its sad ad disgusting that so many police officers fit the stereo type of “dirty cops”. Why is this okay? This is promoted and accepted in places like Ferguson where in a community of majority black the police officers are predominately white. There needs to be a change and it starts with ‘us’ no longer accepting this.
Andrea Suero says
What is going on in Ferguson is very disturbing. It’s sad to know that Michael Brown had to die in order for the world to pay attention to this town where people are discriminated on a daily basis. Minorities have always been targeted by police force because of their race. It seems like police officers only assume African Americans commit crime (which is not true). What makes it worse is that the supporters of Darren Wilson support the behavior and killing as if brown was not worthy or valuable to live. Under any circumstance it should not be acceptable for a police officer to shoot anyone who is unarmed. How is this threating your life? Why does it always have to come to shooting? This seems to be a pattern in some states. It’s okay for a police officer to shoot and kill but won’t do time in jail. This is letting me know that no matter what happens police officers will never be punished for their actions. As a society, I think we should do more but no one could change the way someone feels about a certain group. If a police officer fears for his live whenever he’s around black people or any minority group, then he is in the field. Police are supposed to protect us, not hurt us. Why does it feel like they are out to get us?
Stephanie Perez says
Reading Ferguson doesn’t shock me… Unfortunately it takes something like this to happen so the world can know. I seen situations where police has done similar things but not to the point of killing. It’s sad as I always say that we are living in a society where people have to learn this way.
Daniel Milan says
The topic of Ferguson absolutely bothers me as he was an innocent civilian shot by a law enforcer who is suppose to be a “protector of the people”. The quotes in this section are the exact feelings im starting to acquire while learning more about the law enforcement system, it definately feels like police can get away with a lot of wrong doings while civilians will always be locked up for it. The problem with Ferguson is that this adolescent was completely innocent and was shot by the police man for no reason at all. as a latino male the story of Ferguson is something that strikes fear inside of me as I question when will this happen to someone close to me or myself?
Neila-kay Haynes says
Racism is very much prevalent in todays society as it was years ago. This is no way for a young man to die. There are so many other ways to do things. Officers believe that since they are given privelleges they can abuse it without consequences. They constantly stop and frisk young men based on sterotype and racial profiling. Officers are getting away with a lot of crimes, they shoot people because they try to get their IDs to show them, if your pulled over and you refuse to do something you are harrassed or even get shot. The system is so crazy and messed up. Officers constantly break the law for no reason. Thank God for technology and social media today. Individuals have the right to capture events and incidents that are happening so that society can be aware of what really going on. News and other medias scrutinize what we see and wants us to believe what they want to.
In the end, if we continue to “fight” we will eventually get justice. We cannot give up because giving up would mean that they win, and if they win things will get worst.
Rasheid Thompson says
Unfortunately the implementation of Civil rights does not apply to all. People of the lower economic strata, black and Latino’s are usually mistreated. The law commonly works against this vulnerable group not for them. One of the situations in Ferguson was disturbing to me, but I’m not surprised. The supporters of Darren Wilson, who wore the T-shirts that were hand painted showed blatant racism in that community, those T-shirts and wrist bands were worn with no regard to the life that was taken away from a young black male. Many lives have been taken all over the states in areas like Ferguson and its tragic, however the unjust treatment that black communities face should not solely be blamed on our biased government. The culpability also falls on the black race. For years blacks have been enslaved, even in this modern day, sadly this unfortunate situation is due to the fact that blacks and other minority groups do not unite and fight for what’s right, maybe it’s fear, lack of knowledge, or non- concern
Karen Compton says
I once had a middle aged white man tell me that “Stop and Frisk” is a wonderful tactic in combating crime. The gentlemen went on to say that the NYPD knows who to stop and what areas to patrol. His explanation as to why he believed so strongly in “Stop and Frisk” was to say, the NYPD knows who are really committing crimes and what neighborhoods the criminals reside. To sum up what the gentlemen said, he is agreement with “Stop and Frisk” because Blacks and Latinos commit the majority of crimes if not all. His point of view was very disturbing to hear. “Stop and Frisk” is racially motivated and violates a person’s basic civil rights. “Stop and Frisk” not only abuses a person’s civil rights but also showcases the NYPD’s fear, prejudice and bias towards those they are suppose to protect. I fear for the safety of my brothers when dealing with the NYPD and law enforcement around this nation. Black males are being targeted by law enforcements each day they step out into the world. If they are not being stopped and frisked for “walking while black” they are being unjustifiably arrested, wrongfully accused, and even gunned down.
rosa peralta says
for the past few years I have watch in the news the gross behavior in which many policy office have used against people just to show that they have the power because they are the authority in our society. it is sad to see that the people who are responsible to take care and make sure that the citizens live a safe environment are the first to destroy this ideology. In my opinion I do think that the academy of policy is not giving them the enough preparation to do their job in a correct manner. but I also think that many of them over use their power to humiliated and abuse people especially the low class. people now are feeling scare and unsafe with the policy because they are violating our civic rights. it is also very devastating see that a police office stop an individuals just for nothing but just because this person maybe is Spanish or black showing us the race discrimination pattern that they used as an excuse to show they are doing their job.
Jamie Peeler says
Stop and frisk is definitely a blatant violation of civil rights. There is no justifiable reason why any person who is not committing any crime or breaking any law should be subjected to unwarranted questioning or searches by law enforcement. Although I have no way of knowing whether I’ll ever be the victim of a stop and frisk procedure, or what the outcome will be if I am- I refuse to live my life in fear of police officers.
I grew up on Long Island in predominantly African American and Hispanic neighborhoods, and although I’ve never had a violent encounter with law enforcement- I know people who have. As a teen I had one friend who was harassed by police because of a previous arrest and another who was always harassed because he “fit a description” or was simply suspected of criminal behavior. On separate occasions both were not officially arrested or charged of any particular crime, but still handcuffed and placed in the back of police vehicles. They were driven away to an empty park where they were given the options of either being taken to the precinct to be booked, or letting the officers (who “didn’t feel like doing paperwork”) beat them up in the park and then let them go free. One friend risked being disowned by his parents who already told him that they would have nothing else to do with him if he ended up in jail again. The other knew that if he ever ended up in jail, his mother would not have the money to get him out or afford a lawyer. They both chose to take the beatings and tell their parents that they got into fights at school.
My own personal experience with law enforcement happened when I got a summer job working at the Nassau County District Attorney’s office right after graduating from high school. My older brother bought me a Movado watch as a graduation gift and I decided to wear it to work one day. That day I was questioned by the white police officers who came in and out of the office throughout the day. They all had a hard time figuring out how a kid so young could afford a watch so expensive, especially only working a summer job. I was questioned about the area I lived in, if my parents were rich, if my father was even around at all. After naively answering their questions and explaining that it was a gift from my proud brother- I was then questioned about his line of work. This was before I knew what racial profiling was. To those officers I had obviously obtained the watch through some from of illegal or questionable activity- and I’m sure that the color of my skin had lots to do with it.
Taulant Asani says
I do agree with Desai that its not okay to shoot an unarmed individual if they are running away. n introduction to criminal justice class I learned that if a police officer shoots someone who is running would get in trouble primarily because its not a threat to the [police officer in the first place. and that there was a law to prevent police officers from using unnecessary deadly force. Putting 6 bullets on someone back when they are not a threat to the police officer is totally unacceptable.. CNN posted the video on Youtube and it really disturbing to hear one witness saying that he saw Michael Brown brain come out of his head. This police officer in my opinion has used unnecessary deadly force and should go to jail .
Christina Castillo says
Before reading this article I really had no idea what Ferguson was or anything about it. All I knew was that it was something very popular because everyone keep talking about Ferguson. Looking at the pictures I feel so horrible for what these poor people are going through. One picture in particular that stood out to me was the one of the man white the red tank top and red hat standing and putting his hands up as if he is surrendering. Also I feel so bad for the African American man in the blue shirt with the backpack on who is just walking down the street with his hands up because a whole swat team has guns and weapons pointing at him. It really is a shame how police and swat teams are acting now and African Americans are always the first victims or targets on the list and that is just rude and unfair. Poor Michael Brown was killed and could have lived a long life if it wasn’t for the police who shot and killed him. I feel it is so horrible the way police officers are acting now because there never use to be so many problems like these that are going on in the world. Police officers are suppose to be there to protect people from danger not kill innocent people it’s just not right. Hopefully things will get better and maybe police officers will go back to the drawing board and learn new tactics and ways to deal with things better instead of killing poor people. So Ferguson is such a mess and a disaster going on in the world which hopefully ends soon.
Shun Ramnauth says
The world we live in only focuses on the acts violence and how over sexualized our industries are. We live in a world, where the idea of killing people and bombing places are supposed to bring peace. Over millions of people die daily because of idea of “peace” is at mind. At the rate we are going, what is peace? How did our nation define peace? Invading countries, killing the country’s population, are these methods supposed to bring peace?
I would like to start off with separating each racial case. The Michael Brown case and other cases that have to do with race are all NOT alike. The Michael Brown case has evidence that Michael Brown, is indeed, innocent. Truthfully, every case that has to do with an African-American person dying in hands of a White person is not alike. Every case should be heard, but not every case should be treated alike.
As time progresses with all these racial profiling cases, we are stepping back into when segregation began to happen. Our world that people worked hard to stop separation, became segregated overnight. The police officers are supposed to make people feel safe and protected. However, why are people dying in their hands? Racial Profiling is very common for the standard White on Black crime. Where do you think Police spend their time doing “random” searches? Statistics say, Police officers are known to be in “broken down” areas more than the “classy” areas. Both areas could be committing the same crimes, but the broken down area gets more attention. Why? Because of the races that resides in that area.
The stop and frisk is nothing but another way for the police/government to control you and stigmatize you. I did a group project about the stop and frisk policy, and the truth that was exposed by our research was fascinating. Sadly, the video was taken down due to the class being over. But, I will try my best to find that video again.
Sandra Trappen says
Yes! We would love to see your video! Please share with our class if you can locate it…would be great to see the work that you did.
Jessica Ross says
I think “Stop and Frisk” and similar police tactics are targeted a minority groups. This violates their basic civil rights and leaves people feeling threatened rather than safe. There is definitely a difference in opinion about Ferguson and policing in general depending on location and socioeconomic status. This is due to the racial profiling and minority groups being targeted. People of higher socioeconomic status do not typically see this type of policing so to rationalize what happened they blame the victim claiming if they had only behaved ideally the would not be in that situation. This ignores the bigger picture of police brutally and violence being promoted in the police system.
Jamie Peeler says
I agree with you Jessica. I’ve even heard people say “the police would not stop you if you were not doing anything wrong”. That is clearly a misconception because there are plenty of videos and stories of young black men especially who were stopped and frisked while doing nothing but walking down the street.
DuWayne Grinnell says
Whatever the definition of racial profiling, I believe that there has been a disconnect between the publicly acceptable philosophy that race should play no part in assessing threats to safety posed by any individual and the private views of most Americans, probably including most black Americans.
I cannot pretend to know a final resolution to the profiling dilemma, but a start is to address it by acknowledging that concerns on both side of the racial divide have some legitimacy. If that inspires black and white leaders to say to reach others’ communities, “We understand why you are troubled, we care, and I want you to know we will do our best to give you less cause to worry “, that will be a step forward. This problem can only get worse if not handled appropriately. The fury and backlash that comes out of profiling can lead to more struggles and unfortunately more deaths.
Danielle Marlowe says
I believe that cameras and other technological devices with camera and video settings do have a great impact on what we see. Now, before cameras many wouldn’t have been knowing what was going on with police activity. Before camera and video devices exist, majority were oblivious of what actually was happening during police encounters. There wasn’t always clear evidence if someone was being targeted based on their race, ethnicity, etc. There was once this overall thought that police were “our friends” who helped keep the cities safe. With the rise of technological advances, we are now able to see that the police are not all as great as they were once claimed. This has opened up the eyes of many and draws out many questions as to what has actually been happening before camera/video devices exist. This advancement in technology has greatly helped and display what reality we have been missing for years. Police have been taken advantage of the privileges they have and implemented great pain in many people that they came in contact with. To once think cops were there for your safety, but now can be viewed as your worse enemy and fear. It is horrible to see how much police brutality has been going on. Just imagine how much of it was going on before you could get it on camera. Unless you or someone you know well goes through it, you would never think that police brutality existed for that matter. Videos and pictures have made people aware of what is really going on. People who never knew this existed now have the evidence to look up these things up.
Ruchi Desai says
I do not think that it is okay for a police officer to shoot an unarmed individual if they do not stop and are running away. However, it depends on the situation and the crime the individual has committed. For instance, if they did not stop at a stop sign then shooting an individual would not be an appropriate response from the police. Whereas if an individual has committed murder or harmed another individual and are refusing to stop and follow the direction of the police then the police have a right to shoot them because they can harm other individuals as well. Police are granted tremendous amount of power and misuse of their power can be harmful for society. If police are threatening individuals with arrest warrant without a justifiable cause then they are misusing their powers. They might be doing this due to personal reasons which is unfair. Police tactics such as “stop and frisk” are useful because it give police the power to search individuals at any given time or location if they appear to be suspicious. However, often times, we see that only individuals of certain racial groups are being stopped. In this case, “stop and frisk” is not a useful tactic because it is particularly targeting a specific group of people rather than treating everyone equally. Thus, I think that police unfairly profile certain groups of people more than others which is against the law. In terms of my own social positioning, the dominant power structure does influence my views of laws and police because it shows how people with authority can misuse their power. There are many times when individuals are arrested and taken to jail and treated harshly without committing any crimes. These situations are sad because innocent people are getting hurt simply based on how they look or their race. When I reflect my own personal experiences with law enforcement, I think that they are a very small part of the spectrum because it is hard to see the entire spectrum through one particular case. I think that having cameras on streets are helping because in certain areas especially where there are schools and children crossing, speed cameras have caused people to drive slowly and abide by the speed limits. However, in many cases these cameras are not helpful because they are simply means of collecting money. It is sad to know that our personal privacy is not secure and that individual have access to it, but this is going on without the consent or awareness of the general public. It does bother me, but we have no control over it. Social policy in the United States contribute not only to the “ghettoization” but also to the “hyper-ghettoization” of many urban American neighborhood because of the media. The media categorizes certain racial groups as being violent which causes that particular group to become angry and reply to the media in a more aggressive way which shows how this can lead to “hyper-ghettoization” of many urban American neighborhood. Thus we can see how many tactics used by the police are helpful, but there are also many other tactics used by the police which causes individuals to feel less secure and become aggressive.
Qulynda Wilson says
The shooting of Mike Brown was definately not one of the worst to happened. I think police do not have the right to shoot an unarmed individual if they wont stop running away. Many police officers often violate their rights, as well as ours too. It is very unfair that witnesses that try to record the police’s wrongful doing you run the risk of getting beat up or arrested as well. The videos of polic brutality that are going viral are definately creating a negative image for officers, they are seeming to do more harm than good. Officers do a lot of racial profoling especially to young black men. Stop and frisk is a law that goes against our civil rights because the police are profiling to decide whether or not a person should be searched or not.
Sandra Trappen says
I would argue that the officers create their own negative image by their purposeful actions; they are not the victims here.
Jaalah Hagler says
I believe the incident in Ferguson is not the first time something like this occurred. The police are taking advantage of their power, and in this case it is publically shown all over the world. A citizen should not be shot just because they are running. A police officer should do everything they possibly can to stop the person before using their gun. They should also try to shoot them in a spot that is not going to cause a fatal injury, I actually thought they was taught these kind of things during boot camp or something. The fact that Mike Brown was shot 6 times was not necessary at all and something needs to be done. I did not even know about Darren Wilson selling shirts and the background of the shirts. It is so sad to see people supporting a man like this after what he did to an innocent boy. Police officers need to go threw some more dealing with citizens training. They should be watched more closely, just how the citizens are watched. We are all equal in this country, and the police should start acting like it.
Kellieann Jatta says
The situation that happened to Michael Brown is one of many situations that involved a teenage African American boy as the victim getting shot by a white older male. These are not situations that just occurred overnight but they are just now being publicized thanks to smart phones and social media. It is sad that in the year of 2014 we are still dealing with racial segregation. The dispute is not only against racial segregation but also between class, residence, socio-economic status and even political party. Base on which area of the spectrum you fall on you would have different views on what happen that night when Brown was shot to death. A lot of people are now turning their anger and frustration to the police. Police officers are no longer seen as protecting the community especially when it comes to African Americans. People are more likely to want to solve the problem themselves than to rely on the police officers. Some of the police officers feel like they have the power to treat the American citizens any which way they feel. The data that analyze the kill rate between African Americans and Whites were not at all surprising to me it just brought real statistics to what is going on in the world. It is just sad because that number could represent one of my family members being African American. The video that was attached to this module was a funny illustration of the reality of not knowing how many shots were fired from police officers that killed innocent civilians. There were data for everything else that happen in the world besides that. One thing that did shock me was the percentage of black residences and black police officers. I think that the percentage of police officers should also represent the percentage of residences by racial percentage. The shirts that were made for the cardinals playoff game was very disrespectful to Brown family and it just shows that people would stick together even when things are not done the right way. The cell site simulators shows that nowhere is private not even your own cell phone. We are constantly being watch as if we all are criminals just waiting to be convicted.
Alyssa Cayetano says
I want to start by saying I have never had a bad experience with police, but I have seen those videos on Facebook a lot this year. I hate what I saw. There’s one where the cop slammed an Africa American woman on the floor for sleeping in a subway. She did not do anything wrong. I do not think cops should be allowed to do anything to anyone unless they are guilty. stop and frisk sounds good if there is a suspected problem, but otherwise I don’t think it’s a good idea. Personal space is just something I believe should be respected. I think it’s okay for cops to watch the protesters but I don’t think it’s a good idea for them to our arest those people unless they really are making a scene. I hate that the networks are not safe. You can’t even use things like Facebok & know it’s safe. The technology idea is fine, but it’s terrible that it’s being used to spy on all of us. As far as the policy ghettoizing, I’m not sure. I have never thought about that. My last thought is: I think having the technology just makes it a little more simpler for the police to play their little games with power.
Dymon Todman says
It’s sad to see what this world is becoming. I feel like some officers abuse their power to the point where innocent lives are taken and families are left without their loved one. Racial profiling is judging a person based on their race . It’s upsetting this is still being used today. Seeing all the videos on social media about police brutality is very disappointing. Hearing that blacks are 21 more times likely to be shot by police than whites is very scary. Shooting an unarmed person is unjust because the person cannot defend themselves against your weapon. This has been going on for a long time but due to social media and advances in technology we see more acts of police brutality going on in public .History just keeps repeating itself.
Kiersten DiGiacomo says
The picture and the blurb about people wearing those t-shirts to the Cardinal’s game with the officers name on it actually made me feel sick. This only seems to emphasize the disparity in how race influences the way indivudals view a situation. Even if the police officer had a justifiable reason for killing Michael Brown, (and he did not), there is no reason to shoot as many times as he did. Even so, any moral human being would regret having to take another life regardless of the situation. The fact that people are glorifying this horible incident shows just how backwards society is becoming.
Kellieann Jatta says
I agree with you Kiersten about the cardinal shirts it is very sad to see that people would come together for the wrong reason and not the right one. It also proves that if others who were wearing the shirt were in the police officer shoes that shot Brown they would have done the same thing because they viewed it as being the “right” thing. Something needs to be done because this society is really performing backwards and it is very scary if you are on the opposite end.
Darlynda Jerome says
Brown isn’t the first black teen who died before his time just because of his race and it’s sad.Brown had no weapon and he has not been arrested or charged with any crime.It is sad to know that other people are praising the police after what he did to the young man.In my opinion,those people who were wearing the shirt with the officers name on it to the cardinal’s game ,it is like saying to the police “Thank you for killing a black guy and you did a good a job”.As a result,the officer will feel like since others are agreed with me so why not kill more black male? We have to come together to end this nonsense otherwise,there will be no solution at all.
Maria Minalla says
In my opinion, I believe that the police department has to reform their department and educate their staff. Police department staff has to understand that they cannot be abusing power, because it is not fair for the poor discriminated people. I believe that many of the course that social workers take in school, should be implementing on a criminal justice curriculum. Polices needs to be train on how to treat people with respect, not matter on the race, sex and social status.
Leah Josiah says
This incident shows some police officers is not there to serve and protect some of them have no heart how can you shoot an unarmed teenage execution style after he put his hands up what is this world coming too first Trayvon Martin now this come on now there need to be some changes to the law if you shoot and kill someone especially if your a trained officer you need to be prosecuted for murder its just not right how many more of our youths need to die in cold blood before we realize a change need to occur.
Jessica B says
It seems that not matter what age you are in certain undeveloped communities African American males in particular are at risk for not only persecution of wrong doing but, assault and or gun shot wounds that can and most likely will lead to death. It is very clear police, criminal justice and government officials abuse and overuse their power at any given moment for their own advancement in society. This unfortunately, is making society even more unstable and unsafe for its citizens.
The United States is know as the land of opportunity and the home of the free. The actions of police forces in the recent past have severely contradict both those statements. I can only hope the world can balance out sooner than later, because right now SO! many societies are struggling and the poor are getting hit the hardest. The neighborhoods that are classified as dangerous are just trying to overcome obstacles the government and people in power have put in their way. Granted some actions such as stealing and drug dealing are frowned upon, but these are the few ways for people in certain communities to make money. Instead of building better housing complexes, schools, libraries or even parks people in power ignore and disregard rather important matters, such as helping improve communities to better all the people living their. Helping people have hope and feel safe in their own community is a long shot, but I believe it can start small. Many individuals are innocent but are stereotyped or framed as guilty. Helping communities rebuild and improve it’s conditions in turn would make these individuals become productive, more educated, feel safer, have the ability to walk to the store with less worry of being shot and less likely to be viewed as a possible suspect.
Ayrton Doerr says
I believe that this has been going on for a long time but it is just being uncovered now because of how big social media is today in our society. For example say a civilian witnesses police brutality on the streets, within seconds a video of what is happening can be uploaded to Facebook, twitter, instagram, and even youtube for millions of people to see. 15-20 years ago we did not have these media outlets so at that time it was only by word of mouth that an incident could be relayed.
Police brutality happens everywhere but it definitely is more common in poor urban areas. The reason it does not get as much attention or publicity as it should is because the fact that it happens in urban areas. Like we discussed in class if this was happening in a rich white neighborhood like Montclair, cops would be losing their jobs and police commissioners fired as well. The question I ask is if we are all considered equal why don’t urban areas have as much of a say as rich white neighborhoods?
It also seems to me that policeman that patrol in urban areas are trained differently than other police departments. The pictures and videos I have seen of Ferguson have proven my point. These officers look like they are Marines on the front line of attack over in Afghanistan. It seems that in their police training they are told that people they are going to encounter in urban cities are the most violent people of all time and this seems to be the mentality they take to the streets with them.
Sandra Trappen says
Yes, the police are clearly treating the people in Ferguson as if they are a domestic enemy. But it’s more than this: they’re treating them like animals. I read a great opinion piece on this very issue in the NYT. If you have some time, check it out here: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/12/in-ferguson-and-beyond-punishing-humanity/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&smid=fb-share&_r=2&
Melody Pellot says
In my opinion I don’t believe it right for a police officer to shoot an unarmed individual period. If an individual is unarmed meaning they DO NOT HAVE A WEAPON ON THEM, what could possibly be the reason for a police officer to pull out their own weapon on them. I can see how they might think it’s okay to shoot someone that is running, to get them to stop but in my opinion I believe that even that is wrong. Years ago police officers had to fit a certain criteria in terms of fitness, but now a days I don’t feel like police officers are being held to that same criteria. Due to them not being properly tested on their fitness, some police officers are unable to keep up with an individual who is running away, which can cause them to get frustrated and take the easy way out to stop them from running (shooting them). In terms of threatening an individual with arrest without justifiable cause is another thing that is going wrong in the police force. For example many police officers tend to threaten individuals recording unjust acts performed by police with arrest. It is a part of our constitutional rights to film acts of police brutality, so for a police officer to threaten an individual with arrest on just that act alone they are restricting us of our constitutional rights. Now some police officers have found ways to get around that right by stating that the individual is interfering with a act of “justice” or even by stating that the individual some how attacked the police officer (which if the individual is recording the situation, you could see if they attacked them or not). Lastly I know for a fact that police officers unfairly profile some groups of people more than others. Police officers are more likely to stop a group of young African American males then they are to stop a group of young Caucasian males. Their reasoning behind this is that supposedly a group of African American males are more likely to start trouble or be up to nothing good than a group of Caucasian males, which in reality this always isn’t the case. The even more crazy part is that not only will police officers stop African Americans more, they are more likely to jump to conclusions with them as well. For example, if a police officer stops a African American male and the minute they stop him the African American male puts his hands in his pockets or anywhere other than where the police officer can see them, the police officer is automatically going to assume that they are reaching for a weapon. It’s crazy how much we are exposed to now a days, I’m pretty sure things like this have been going on for a while now but ever since we developed the technology and guts to film these acts, society can finally see for themselves what the police officers are really doing.
Raissa Castillo says
It is not ok for a police officer to shoot an unarmed individual if they do not stop running. They only time a police officer should have the right to shoot at a suspect if the police officer life is being threaten. For example, if the suspect has a gun and is pointing the gun at the police.
Cops should never threaten anyone with arrest unless they have justifiable cause. If they arrest a person without reason to arrest he/she, this is called abuse of power. Some cops like to exercise their abuse of power on people to feed their ego. They should not be police officers if they behave this way.
Stop and Frisk should be used on occasions when terrorism threats is high but it should be done in a respectful way where everyone including Caucasians are being checked. The problem with some police officers is that some consider themselves to be over the law and they take advantage of their positions to target certain people. Stop and Frisk should be recreated/re-formed.
Political protester should be left alone unless they are violating a law or regulation. We live in an era where Terrorism exist, so Stop and Frisk like any tactic should be monitored and police officers that violate people’s basic civil rights should be punished by the law. If the police officers are not following protocol and abusing their power, of course they do not make anyone feel safe. If we have to worry about being threaten by a police officer than we have a big problem. We pay them to protect us not to kill or threaten us.
I do believe that the police unfairly targets certain people. I believe that high rank officers tell their officers to target certain races or people. In certain areas, police do not respond to emergencies like they would respond in a Caucasian area, at the appointed time. They choose what area to assist quickly and what area to abuse.
I believe that not all police officers are abusers and this just happens in some occasions or areas.
I am glad cameras are everywhere because cameras tell what really happens when the police confronts the public in anyway. Cameras keep everyone in check even the citizens.
In a way it bothers me that I do not have the privacy that I deserve but then again like I said earlier we need to check everyone because we do have enemies (terrorism). How do we know who really is who?
Dakota Knoblock says
I do not think it is okay for a police officer to shoot an unarmed individual if they don’t stop running away. Simply because this is wrong and the person is UNARMED. What threat are they causing to you that you need to shoot them? Especially if they are running away.. Also, threatening an individual with arrest without a justifiable cause makes no sense. Why are you threatening to arrest someone without a reason that can be justified? How would that ever hold up in court? It wouldn’t. In addition, I think police do unfairly profile some groups more than others. For example, blacks are primarily targeted. Those who live in poverty/ the projects are profiled more often than someone who lives in a “nicer” community.
Caitlin Monaghan says
It is evident that police officers profile individuals and decided how they will act toward a person before even encountering the persons personality or situation completely. I feel that is why not just one but many innocent people get shot at and even die in the hands of the police. They are too quick to pull the trigger because they don’t have to follow the same laws and principles in which they expect us to. follow. There is a major disconnect between the people and the police that wont be fixed until the police can start seeing members of society as equal innocent people, because we are supposed to all be innocent until proven guilty, not innocent unless your a certain race, religion, or ethnicity.Problems in police continue to get worst because of militarization, when you would think it would be getting better because we are supposed to be a generation that is more excepting and less biased toward certain racial groups. The police force should be a direct reflection upon the community made up of members of that community so riots like Ferguson happen less.
Yajaira Minaya says
The police duty is to protect and serve,, not to cause harm or cause harm just because they are bored or want to prove themselves to other officials. Once the Ferguson incident occured and the incident that happened in Harlem occured also I was bothered and speechless with what happened..plus with all of the footage thats available to show proof of what happened and how, they still need to investigate..investigate what exactly..the proof is there in the footage..
This reminds me of when Katrina took place. The media is a strong and powerful tool which can manipulate our way of thinking and coming up with a conclusion. They showed a clip which was in all of the newspapers media of an African American man swimming for survival,and in caption it read ” looting” meanwhile the same picture came up with a white male swimming and in caption read ” surviving from the aftermath “..this was completely messed up and showed how the media wants us to believe what is not reality.
The police needs to be observed and checked on,, because it has reached a point where we dont trust them..my nephew who is 11 years old hates them, why? I asked him this and he said because they are mean and dont want to help me, when I grow up I want to be a basketball player..those are his words and its due to what he sees in his neighborhood and in the news..
Szymon Paczkowski says
Police shouldn’t overuse its power, nor decide whether an individual is worth living or not. Judgement based on race doesn’t open door for progress in the conflict, either. Unfortunately, the opposite is taking place before our eyes which evokes insecurity, fear, and anger. As a result people are even more rebellious in the protest which is adequate. The rebellion though, shouldn’t be violent on individual level, but demonstrative like in an unfortunate of Ferguson.
The tactics used by the police such as “stop and frisk” could be effective in my opinion but only if circumstances are appropriate for such action. For example, stopping a pedestrian randomly from a peaceful walk to subway station could provoke frustration and refusal – that’s unnecessary, but if there was a person acting suspiciously odd or aggressive, it would be okay to estimate the potential “danger” of that individual.
Pearlina Griffiths says
When I hear this story of how the man was killed in Ferguson I vertually get nervous. Ilive in New York. I have a teenage son and I just have to pray for him everyday. Thisis due to he fact that a lot of stop and frisk go on everyday and our children are not safe.When Ias growing up Iheard”The police is our friend. Can we say that today? Some of them act like our enemies……..
Tejwantie Hemchand (samantha) says
When one hear the word police, they are suppose to feel safe and protected not scared. Majority of us are more terrified of police officers than happy or even proud to be around them. Its scary how some police officers abuse their power upon their own community especially on different races and mostly on miniority races. When you hear the word police in a conversation in today’s society, nothing good is being said about them. They have gotten to a poin where they didn’t even care about other officials because on one ocassion, the police hancuffed a firefighter just because of the way he parked the ambulance at an accident scene . Its just really sad and makes one wonders who are we suppose to really believe and trust in safe guarding the lives of ourselves and our families.
kennishawalters says
“What do you think about police tactics like “Stop and Frisk?” Do you think these tactics violate a person’s basic civil rights? Do they make you feel safe or threatened”?
In my opinion, “stop and frisk” is an absolute violation of an individual’s basic civil rights. The fact that the authorities that be, find it justifiable to judge a person simply based on his/her place in society is in itself-plain undiluted prejudice. The tactic is permanently etched in my thought process, so much that I each time I see a police while going about y daily duties, I start questioning myself on wether I have an item on me that the police might think is a threat to society. This isn’t sating that I have illegal items on me; it could be as simple as having a nail clipper, and being fearful that if i am stop and frisked the police might arrest me and, claim the nail clipper is a weapon. This is no way for any person to live.
katie mosakowski says
this whole Ferguson ordeal is unreal – i still cant wrap my mind around these events occurring. the brown shooting – its a shame…whatever happen to the notion that if a POs weapon had to be used it should be to injure vs kill – is that concept out the window? we had this discussion today in class that if you dont do as requested – you get shot up. you attempt to provide your ID and get shot up anyway – this is a mess. of course PD should defend themselves but lets not be so quick to shoot….and kill…its like the PD are on a mission to kill every suspect regardless of events leading to their presence being requested or needed. this is chaos…i feel for our children…its scary
Raissa Castillo says
That is so true… I wonder that too. Back then they had the option to injure a suspect instead of killing them. Now police officers without mercy start shooting execution style for no apparent reason. Well, this just proves how our own human race can not protect us. This will continue to happen because some feel that they are above others and above the law.