I have had a passionate interest in this subject for some time. Lately I have seen some awful posts regarding Ferguson. Instead of getting angry and posting a bumper sticker-like post with little substance, that does nothing other than add to a growing divide, I decided it would be more important to open up a dialogue on how we can address the issues that Ferguson has brought to light. I would invite anyone who feels as passionate as I do to a discussion no matter the difference of your opinion. I will start by addressing the issue of holding police officers accountable for the increase in police violence. Michael Brown’s family has suggested one solution through the Mike Brown law that would call for every police officer to wear a body camera. While cameras would probably not be able to fix every problem with law enforcement, I believe it would be a step in the right direction. Most police officers are not bad people. I know quite a few officers personally that are outstanding individuals, however there is a group mentality among law enforcement that protects their own no matter what. Most officers should not have a problem with wearing cameras since the video evidence should support their claims of necessary use of force. Having video evidence would eliminate the problems of relying solely on witness testimony. Cameras along with transparency in independent investigations would salvage some public respect for law enforcement. Cameras would decrease the amount of negative behavior among officers. In some cases such as Rialto, California citizen complaints and the use of force dramatically decreased. Cameras can also be a deterrent for citizens to misbehave since they understand that anything they do will be recorded. This means that implementing cameras can potentially save police officers’ lives as well as citizens. Additionally, an overarching standard set of training procedures and guidelines would make it much easier for officers to understand the correct procedures and would make it easier for everyone else to determine if an officer has overstepped their boundaries. A police officer’s main objective should be to protect and serve the community. Lethal force should not be the initial reaction. Police officers should be trained in a way that does not treat citizens as an automatic threat. Training officers with other means of force while making them more accessible may already be included, but if there was more of an emphasis on alternative methods and a standard set of rules when interacting with the public, the amount of unnecessary deaths and the ambiguity of holding officers accountable would be far less of a problem. Mandatory cameras and changing the way Law enforcement interacts with the public, would reduce the increasing amount of mishaps and avoidable tragedies. The growing amount of police violence does not diminish the sacrifice and contributions that police officers do for us, but it does increase the amount of public mistrust. Especially since police officer deaths have decreased while police caused homicides have increased. I wish both of those numbers would be zero, but when it’s more dangerous to be a garbage man than a police officer, I think we should focus more on how to reduce the amount of civilian casualties. While this issue affects all races, black people are almost four times more likely to be killed by a police officer compared to a white person. You may say the total number of white people is higher but comparing the numbers relative to population gives a more accurate result. We see the same with arrests and convictions which are often drug related. Black people are much more likely to be arrested and even more likely to be convicted for drug crimes compared to white people, even though both use at about the same percentage. You don’t need data to understand that police officers react differently based on race. I have seen too many videos of African Americans with toy guns being gunned down without hesitation. Now contrast this to a white person carrying around an assault rifle, doing nothing more than exercising his 2nd amendment right. One is perceived as a thug while the other is a patriot.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 08:12:10 +0000
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