Police use of force - Grade: A PDF

Preview

Summary

police use of force essay...

Description

Marcel Alarcon 10/3/19 CRMJ 387 Mr.Skinner

Police Use of Force

Having grown up in a society were technology is so abundant, especially when it comes to cellphones, unfortunately I've watched video after video of police brutality, against Hispanic and African Americans, in America. Because of these videos going viral, I've also witness how society have changed their minds of police officers, they were once seen as protectors of society, and now they have become a nightmare to people, people freeze up because they are so scared by the sight of an officer. However, since I was little, like many other 5-year old's, I've always wanted to be a cop, however for me, that dream has never died. The bad images people have been fed about cops, has made it extremely hard for a person like me, especially because I'm Hispanic and a lot of my community doesn’t trust cops, to tell people my dreams of being a police officer. I expect for people to tell me things like; “no, why?”,” are you sure?”, “police officers are not trusted, man”, and the sad part is that 9/10 times that is what I hear. However, I've never been discouraged by all these opinions, since I've been able to hear both sides of the story and sympathize with both parties. Police brutality has always been a problem in America, not just because innocent people have been hurt, but because it has increased racial tensions, between police and society. Recently, one of the biggest events of police brutality happened in Dallas, Texas about a year ago and has come back in the media because the police officer involved is going through

trial. The case I'm talking about is the case of police officer Amber R. Guyger, who wrongfully murdered Botham Shem Jean, who was an African American man, while he was watching TV in his own apartment. According to the The New York Times article, “Trial Opens for Former Officer Who Killed Unarmed Black Man in His Apartment”, by Marina Trahan Martinez, Ms.Guyger was coming back from one of her patrol shift on September 2018, and when she entered an apartment that she though was hers, she saw Mr. Jean sitting on the couch, and thinking he was an intruder, she shot him twice and the torso, which ended up killing him. After firing the shots, she then realized that she was in the wrong apartment building, and later was arrested. while she was being questioned, she told officer that she believed Mr. Jean was an intruder and that she felt actively threaten when she opened fired on him. In the case that ended this week, they unraveled that Ms.Guyger had been involved in another shooting incident where she had shot another man in the stomach because he had grabbed her taser during a confrontation. The man sustained non-life threating injuries and she wasn't indicted for shooting him, however, after her killing of Mr. Jean she was put in administrated leave and then fired. At the end of her trial the jury found her guilty of manslaughter and was sentenced to ten years in prison. In addition, to people being angry at the event, there has also been picture going around of the judge hugging her, as she was in tears, after she was sentenced, and the brother of Mr. Jean, showing sympathy towards her. After the trial, many people protest because they believed that she should have gotten a bigger sentenced, due to the fact that Mr. Jean was killed in his own home without causing any problems to anyone. According to the Dallas News article, “10-Year Sentence for Amber Guyger Triggers Chants of Protest – and a Hug of Forgiveness. “the protesters demanded a “wholesale” change to the Dallas Police Department and for the firing of the Dallas Police Association

President Mike Mata. And when it come the family of Mr. Jean, his mother felt like the court's decision showed how corrupt our criminal social system is, however Mr. Jean’s brother showed Sympathy and forgave Ms.Guyger and hugged her. As you can see, this event has shown how many people don’t trust Police Officer and especially the criminal justice system, because the people in power have constantly gotten away with murder, of colored people, with little to no repercussions. However, Mr.Jean’s brother showed that not everyone believes these things and believe that protesting and violence is not the way to go. Another event of police brutality in America, is the case an auto repair shop employee, Zebbie Hudgens, who again was an African American Man. As said before, Mr. Hudgens was a mechanic in Greenville, South Carolina, and one day at work he was seen by many of his coworkers, being brutally arrested as he yelled in panic. Viewers of this tragic event told police that Mr. Hudgens was randomly approached by police, and within 15 seconds he was thrown to the ground by five police officer. While the police officer was holding him down trying to arrest him, the other officers were beating him, as he was asking them, “what did I do?”. Like many events of police brutality, this event was filmed by onlookers and was also captured by a security camera, and these footages were shared on social media. After many people, who watched the footage, complained, the Police Department decided to fire one of the officers involved, and their reasoning of his firing was labeled as “conduct unbecoming”. The Police department also put out a response saying that Mr.Hughes was being cited for driving under suspension, and when things turned bad, he assumed a fighting stance while trying to flee, then, police tried to arrest him. As they were trying to arrest him, they stated that he was resisting arrest, and that is what caused them to start punching him. Mr.Hughes has sued the Department, but according to his lawyer that no date has been set for a court appearance, and all charges are pending.

When it comes to the communities reaction to this event, a community Activist group called the Freedom Fighters Upstate, tried to speak to the sheriff about the incident, and he said that Mr. Hughes had been followed by the drug task force for being “suspicious”, however they did not want to say anything about charges or anything else. Many of Mr.Hughes coworkers stated that he was treated unfairly, and that he was hardworking man living in a very poor area. In addition, after the footage went viral, many people in the comments of the video stated that they believed he was treating unfairly, and made it clear that they were on the side of Mr.Hughes and not the police officers who were being questioned. This event, again, shows that the community, even though some try to have a civil talk with police officers, share the thought that police officers use their power wrongfully and that many who are involved in police brutality are not being reprehended and punished. Lastly, in my opinion, people are getting tired of the excuse that police officers either feel threaten or that the person is resisting arrest, for the reasoning of badly hurting someone. The last article of police brutality is different from the other two because it takes place in Hong Kong, however, I decided to use it for this paper to show that police brutality is not just a problem in America, but all over the word. In addition, I feel like it shows the progression of the communities, who are plagued by police brutality, lack of trust of police officers, and that is not just in America. According to the New York Times article, “A Man or a ‘Yellow Object’? Hong Kong Police Dispute Assault Allegations.” by Daniel Victor, talks about the recent protest in Hong Kong and how a man wearing a yellow jacket was beaten up by police as people filmed it. When the police department was questioned about the blurry videos, in order to cover up their tracks, they reframed from saying that it was a person who they were beating up and called him the “yellow object” in the video. This phrase has angered the community because the man was

seen bloodied up from the beating, and it showed how little the police respected the protesters but also for humans. Unfortunately, during this month protest, according to the article, hundreds of people have been assaulted by the cops, but nothing has been done about it. Due to these events, the community in Hong Kong, have slowly gone from peaceful to assaulting cops, and criticizing the government for being corrupt and not doing anything to correct the police officers. As you can see, this are beliefs that our communities in America also have about the police force and our government. The saddest thing about all of this, is like in Hong Kong, where there are now people attacking cops due to the anger, we are now seeing incidents were people kill innocent cops on duty or fight back when they feel threaten by police officers. Lastly, you can also see how footages of police brutality, have slowly had a negative impact not just in our society but all over the world because, even if it's not entirely true, they depict police as animals who have no care or respect for human life In conclusion, there has always been a problem with police brutality, not just here but all over the world. However, the one reason why it has become so big today, it's because our ability to share all these events, through the power of the internet. The ability to share has also brought an immense amount of distrust of the criminal justice system, and it's pretty obvious that something has to change. However, in my opinion, I feel like we as a society also have to change and start looking at what is making police officers as violent as they are depicted in the videos, instead of assuming that that’s just the way they are. Assumptions is what is killing our societies and if we don’t fix it, these events are just going to repeat themselves, like how they have been, over hundreds of years.

Bibliography Martinez, M. T., & Fernandez, M. (2019, September 23). Trial Opens for Former Officer Who Killed Unarmed Black Man in His Apartment. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/23/us/amber-guyger-dallas-police.html? rref=collection/timestopic/Police Brutality and Misconduct&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics®ion&module=stream_unit&version= latest&contentPlacement=5&pgtype=collection. Emily, J., Branham, D., & Smith, L. V. (2019, October 3). 10-year sentence for Amber Guyger triggers chants of protest - and a hug of forgiveness. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2019/10/02/jurors-hear-testimony-sentencing-phaseamber-guygers-murder-trial/. Hauser, C. (2019, September 25). South Carolina Deputy in Video of Violent Arrest Is Fired. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/25/us/south-carolinadeputy-fired.html?rref=collection/timestopic/Police Brutality and Misconduct&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics®ion&module=stream_unit&version= latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection. Victor, D., & Yu, E. (2019, September 24). A Man or a 'Yellow Object'? Hong Kong Police Dispute Assault Allegations. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/24/world/asia/hong-kong-yellow-object.html? rref=collection/timestopic/Police Brutality and Misconduct&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics®ion&module=stream_unit&version= latest&contentPlacement=3&pgtype=collection....