The efficacy of policing
Policing are important because they help protect and serve the public. Over the years police have not been doing their job. Police brutality has been shown multiple times. Police brutality is when police over use their power when dealing with African American people. Acts of police brutality include:
- Beatings;
- Improper take downs;
- Unwarranted use of tasers;
- Racial abuse;
- Unlawful killings;
- Torture;
- Or indiscriminate use of riot control agents at protests.
George Floyd
An example of negative policing is George Floyd. He was a 46-year-old Black man who was killed on May 25, 2020. He was hand cuffed and pinned to the ground. Former officer Derek Chauvin, was kneeing Floyd in his neck, while he was pinned on the ground.
Therefore, him being kneed in the neck caused him to die because he could not breathe. Many people protested for his justice after his death. Chauvin was arrested on May 29th, 2020. Which was four days after Floyd’s death.
Breonna Taylor
Breonna Taylor was killed because of negative policing. She was a 26-year-old African American woman who had been in her own home resting when she was killed. This is an example of an act of racial injustice.
On March 13, 2020, Taylor was shot and killed by the police. Officers used forced to enter her apartment to do a drug dealing investigation involving her ex-boyfriend. With the use of a no-knock warrant, they were not required to announce who they were prior to busting in the door.
Taylor’s boyfriend (not part of the investigation) Walker, thought that the police were intruders when they came in the home so, he shot at them. Therefore, in return the officers fired 32 shots. Walker remained unhurt but Breonna was shot by six bullets and her home was never searched.
Laquan McDonald
Laquan McDonald was a victim of police brutality and was murdered on Oct. 20, 2014. He was fatally shot by a police officer known as Jason Van Dyke. McDonald was walking down the street and he refused to put down a knife that he had lunged at the officers.
A dash cam video was recorded of McDonald walking away from officers when officer Van Dyke shot him sixteen times. This officer was charged with first degree murder. He was also found guilty of second degree murder with sixteen counts of aggravated battery and firearm. He has held and went to jail at cook county.
Pros
Positive policing is when the officers help others and actually protect them when needed. They are here to serve and protect people who are in danger. Additionally, police are able to communities that they serve in. Their job is also catch many criminals and solve crimes.
Cons
Police lives are in danger sometimes because they get put in dangerous situations and have to deal with it. For example during police chases, their lives are in danger when they are chasing people and they speed past red lights.
They can easily get in a car crash if they don’t drive safely. Officers may become stressed when working. Sometimes they work long hours and get low pay. Also, sometimes police have to deal with crazy people.
Abusing their power
Cops abuse their power by violating civil rights, racial profiling , illegal detention, indiscriminate use of riot control agents, torture, physical, financial, and sexual abuse. Each year over a thousand people are killed by cops. There are three types of abuse of authority.
They are false arrests from illegal searches and seizures, excessive or unreasonable force, and misuse of position or power. When working, all police should try their best not to shoot and kill others on accident.
The future of policing
In the future police should to do their jobs the correct way. Therefore, they should be trained for a while until they are sure they can do their job correctly. They shall rely on less weapons. When people apply for the job to become a police officer, they should be trained better when they go to police academy.
They use videos for training. It takes about two to four years to become an actual officer. They should not be bias and racist when arresting people. They should treat everybody equal and with respect. When hiring police officers they should take multiple different classes based on how they should react during certain situations. After training they should be up to a task to see what they learned while training at the police academy.
Written by Kamille Collins
Sources:
The New York Times: What to Know About Breonna Taylor’s Death
Wikipedia: George Floyd protests in Chicago
Wikipedia: Murder of Laquan Mcdonald
Featured Image Courtesy of ep_jhu’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of henry…’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
